Finding Avalon
by Naitch03
Summary: While hunting for more ZPM's for Atlantis, Dr. Jackson discovers hints to the location of the Ancient city of Avalon. Little did he know that his discovery would reunite the 13th colony with it's long lost bretheren. Stargate SG1 Atlantis nBSG xover
1. Chapter 1

"The Nature Boy" Proudly Presents

**Finding Avalon**

**A Stargate SG-1/Battlestar Galactica '03 Crossover**

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**Dramatis Personae**

**The SGC**

Major General Jack O'Neill (retired)

Lieutenant General George Hammond, Commander Homeworld Security

Major General Hank Landry, Commander Stargate Command

Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter, SG-1

Lieutenant Colonel Cameron "Shaft" Mitchell, SG-1

Teal'c, Free Jaffa Nation Representative; SG-1

Dr. Daniel Jackson, SG-1

**DSC-304 Commanders and Crew**

Colonel Lionel Pendergast, BC-303 Prometheus

Colonel Steven Caldwell, Commander DSC-304 _Daedalus_

Hermiod; Asgard Engineering Expert/Liaison

Dr. Lindsey Novak; Chief Engineer, _Daedalus_

Colonel Paul Emerson; Commander DSC-304 _Odyssey_

Colonel Chekov, Commander DSC-304 _Korlev_

**Atlantis Expedition Team (AET)**

Dr. Elizabeth Weir; Commander AET

Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard; Military Commander, Atlantis

Dr. Rodney McKay; Chief Science Officer, Atlantis

Teyla Emmagen

Ronnon Dex

Dr. Carson Beckett; Chief Medical Officer, Atlantis

Dr. Radek Zelenka; Civilian Scientist, Atlantis

**Allied Alien Leaders**

Bra'tac, Free Jaffa Representative

Thor, Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet

**X-305 _Titan_**

Major Elizabeth 'Hawkeye' Pierce; Commander X-305 _Titan_

Captain Lin Yao Chu; Helms Officer, 2IC

Lieutenant Jennifer Hailey; Chief Engineer _Titan_

Cadet Cassandra Frasier; Medic Trainee, Science Officer, _Titan_

Captain Douglas Ramsey; Weapons Officer

Cadet Kailee Robson; Engineering

Doctor Alexei Kostya; Chief Medical Officer

**Twelve Colonies**

Admiral William 'Bill' Adama, Commander Battlestar Galactica

Commander Lee 'Apollo' Adama, Commander Battlestar Pegasus

Captain Kara 'Starbuck' Thrace, CAG Galactica

Lieutenant Shari Valerii; Cylon Resistance

Lieutenant Karl 'Helo' Agathon

Colonel Saul Tigh

Chief Petty Officer Galen Tyrol

Lieutenant Felix Gaeta

Petty Officer 2nd Class Anastasia Dualla

Laura Roslin; President of the Twelve Colonies

Gaius Baltar; Vice President of the Twelve Colonies, Presidential Candidate

Tom Zarek; Vice Presidential Candidate

Number 6; Cylon

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**A/N: **Here we go again…..

I recently got that hankering to read some good Stargate SG-1/Battlestar Galactica crossovers- only to find that straight crossovers didn't really exist. Sure, there was The Thirteenth Colony on FanFic. Net, and Derelict on Star Destroyer. Net, but that was about all I could find. So of course, I had to write my own.

So here is where I screw with the chronology. This story is set during Season 9 of Stargate SG-1, and at the end of Season 2 of Atlantis. Everything that happened on the show in Atlantis happened, HOWEVER- this is an Alternate Season 9. The Ori and the Aurthurian mythology of Season 9 didn't happen. O'Neill was reassigned by the Air Force to a special assignment, Mitchell took command of SG-1. What happened during that year will be revealed throughout the story.

As for Battlestar Galactica, everything up to the last episode of Season two happened, but we're changing things from the time they find the planet on out.

Disclaimer: Stargate SG-! And Stargate Atlantis, along with all characters, vehicles and technology within, are owned by MGM Studios and Double Secret Productions. Battlestar Galactica (new series) is owned by Univesal Studios. No profit is being made from the publication of this story.

Special thanks to my beta for this story, Chris Malone and to Fallenstar2 for her help on this chapter.

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**Chapter One**

**Remember the _Titan_**

"Incoming wormhole!" Walter Harriman, the sergeant in charge of dialing operations, called out as the alarms sounded. The usual bustle of activity started as Marines positioned themselves in the gate room. Major General Hank Landry came down the stairs into the control room just as the wormhole formed behind the iris.

"Receiving IDC sir, it's SG-1." the sergeant announced. Landry nodded.

"Open the iris." He commanded, then watched as the iris spun open to reveal the water-like substance of the wormhole behind it. Even after a year an a half, the Stargate still amazed him. He could still recall the day when then Major General Jack O'Neill came by his office at the Pentagon, carrying a folder so classified he should have been arrest for carrying it out in public. Landry had stared at his friend, his clear blue eyes wide in astonishment as Jack had told him about his most recent assignment- the Stargate. How he had traveled across the galaxy, how he had forged alliances (okay, how Daniel had forged alliances) with alien races, and how the United States Air Force now not only had fight-interceptors capable of space combat, but also had starships. Starships, or all things! And then Jack had dropped the bombshell- how he was finally retiring, not only because of his age (and knees), but because he had fallen in love with his second in command and no longer wanted to deny his feelings.

Strangely enough, of all of the things he had heard in their meeting, that last bit had surprised the stocky general the most.

So now here he was, a year and a half later, the commanding officer of the United State's, no, the world's most top secret project watching as his flagship team stepped through the gate.

There was Teal'c, of course. Former First Prime of Apophis, Teal'c had helped the original SG-1 escape from Chulak and had been a part of the unit ever since. He had briefly left the SGC before he took command to help Bra'tac set up the new Free Jaffa government, but had eventually returned and become something of an ambassador between the two organizations.

Then there was Daniel Jackson, the man who had opened the gate for the first time, and the man who had arguably given up the most in its use. First his wife, then his 'family' on Abydos, not to mention his life (at least twice, which was something Landry was still a little fuzzy on), the archeologist had been moments away from leaving the SGC forever to go to Atlantis when fate interceded in the form of Vala Mal Doran. He hadn't been too upset in the long run, though, as her interference had led Daniel to evidence of yet another Ancient City that he and the rest of SG-1 had spent the last year and a half trying to locate. Judging by the look on his face, Landry was guessing they had finally found something.

Next was Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter, one of the most brilliant women on the planet, a founding member of SG-1, and the current love of Jack O'Neill's life. She had been distracted though over the past few months since Jack had suddenly disappeared. While she didn't think anything bad had happened (that was life in black ops), she couldn't hide the worry, especially from her friends.

And lastly there was Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchell, hot shot pilot, one of the heroes of Antarctica, and current commanding officer of SG-1. Mitchell was everything Jack O'Neill wasn't- down to earth, almost always followed his orders to the letter, but still improvised enough to give him and his team a staggeringly high success rate. He was also less abrasive than Jack had been, much to the relief of the brass.

Landry nodded to Walter, who shut down the gate, then proceeded down to the gate room.

"Welcome back, SG-1. I take it something…." He trailed off as Daniel mumbled a greeting and rushed out of the gate room. "Was it something I said?"

"Sorry about Daniel, General." Mitchell said with a small smile. "But I think he found something interesting."

"You think?"

"We didn't have a chance to find out, sir." Carter replied. "He found a tablet, then said we had to get back immediately. But if I had to guess, I'd say he found a clue to the city, as well as a name."

"What name would that be, Colonel?" Landry asked.

"Avalon."

Before he could say anything more, alarms sounded. "Incoming wormhole!" Harriman called out over the PA.

"Close the iris!" Landry yelled as he ran up to the control room, the remaining SG-1 members behind him. The wormhole opened as they made their way into the control room.

"Receiving a signal. It's Atlantis sir!"

'They're early." Landry noted, then turned to the Sergeant. "Put it on the screen."

The computer screen next to them flickered for a moment, before coalescing into a visual of the Atlantis control room. Front and center was a worried-looking Dr. Elizabeth Weir.

"Stargate Command, please respond. This is Atlantis. We have an emergency, please respond."

"Open a channel." He told Harriman, then looked into the camera over the screen. "Dr. Weir, this is General Landry. What is your situation?"

"We were discovered by the Wraith." Elizabeth responded without preamble. "In order to keep our existence from the other Wraith, we were force to work with them on developing a weapon. You received our file on the drug Dr. Becket had been developing, and the file on Michael?"

"Yes, we did."

"They wanted to weaponize it. To keep our secret, we worked with them. It was the only option open to us at the time, and we even seemed to benefit from it- they gave us everything we needed to know about Wraith technology. Unfortunately, the files they sent were a Trojan horse which has compromised our computers."

"Do you still have the files?" Landry asked, looking for something good out of all of this. His hopes were dashed when Elizabeth shook her head.

"No, they corrupted themselves. But not before they sent information on us back to their fleet. Information that included the location of Earth."

Silence reign in the SGC for a few moments, before Mitchell spoke up.

"How long do you think we have before they get here?"

"We know their hyperdrives aren't as advanced as the Asgard hyperdrives we use." She replied. "There were three hive ships, and several cruisers in their fleet. We're estimating that it will take them about a month to get to Earth. The _Daedalus_ is already en route and should be there in two weeks."

"What about your defenses?" Landry asked.

"We're clearing our computers as we speak, and all systems should be operational by tomorrow. Plus, we have been able to re-arm the city with the drones from Eldred's planet, and we now have the Orion. Dr. Zelenka is hard at work finishing repairs on her as we speak. One last thing, General. Dr. McKay and Ronan are being held on one of the Wraith ships, and Colonel Sheppard is MIA. If you can manage, please try to get them back."

"We'll see what we can do, Doctor. Now if you excuse me, I have a few phone calls to make."

"Of course. Atlantis out." Weir replied, then severed the connection. A few moments later, the Stargate shut down once more.

"Well, this is a problem." Mitchell observed. "At least we have some lead time"

"Only a month. And right now the Prometheus is dry-docked for an overhaul. The only operational ship we have right now is the _Odyssey_; and the Russians have the _Korlev_. But two ships will not last against three Wraith hive ships."

"I will contact the Free Jaffa Council on Dakara." Teal'c announced. "Hopefully, we will be able to put together a fleet in time to stop the Wraith incursion."

"Good. Thank you, Teal'c." Landry said, then turned to Carter. "What about the Asgard? Do you think they can protect some of those protected planets now that the Replicators are gone?"

"We haven't been able to contact them for the past few months, sir." Carter said sadly. "So I wouldn't count on them."

"What about the _Titan_?"

Carter shook her head. "It's still at least four months away from completion."

Mitchell looked confused. "The _Titan_, sir? Another 304?"

"X-305, actually." Carter said. "Mid-size tactical recon/attack vessel. Heavily armed and armored, but nowhere near battle-ready." She turned back to Landry. "Sir, even with Lieutenant Hailey working on her, I don't see the _Titan_ being combat-ready in a month."

"Well, unfortunately that's all we have." Landry said with finality in his voice. "Colonel, you and Mitchell go to the dry-dock. We need that ship operational in less than a month. Teal'c, please contact the Jaffa Council, and get as many ships as possible. Dr. Jackson," he turned, only to remember the Doctor wasn't with them, and then sighed. "Okay, I guess I'll contact the Russians. Let's get going, people.

**SGC FLEET DRYDOCK**

**SOMEWHERE OUTSIDE AREA 51**

**17:00 HOURS**

**T-MINUS 4 WEEKS UNTILL WRAITH ARRIVAL **

"Any chance of the Prometheus being ready in time? Mitchell asked as they rode the service elevator deep underground. Much like Cheyenne Mountain, the SGC Dry-dock was concealed deep underground in a massive, heavily reinforced chamber that had taken years to hollow out. Once the home of the Prometheus, it had been enlarged over the years and now housed several ships, including the _Odyssey_, the _Daedalus_, and the _Titan_.

"No chance." Carter replied, shaking her head. "It took them nearly two months just to pull out the hyperdrive generators, which was made all the harder when the Asgard stopped responding to our calls. There's simply no way to put them back in, tune them up, and get the vessel space worthy in the time we have."

"Do you have any idea why the Asgard have cut off communications?" Mitchell asked. "I was under the impression that you and General O'Neill saved their entire race; Several times."

"Whatever the reason, I'm almost positive it's the reason Jack's disappeared." Carter scowled. "He's supposed to be retired…"

The elevator finally stopped and opened to reveal a maze of catwalks. As the two Colonels stepped out and started walking towards the far eastern corner of the complex, Mitchell glanced down and saw that they were several hundred feet off of the ground, and a glance ahead showed the massive hull of the Prometheus, which was laid open as technicians pulled out older components in their quest to upgrade the flagship with the latest technology. In the Southern end of the complex sat the _Odyssey_, another set of techs swarming over its hull, inspecting it for any flaws. The _Daedalus_' bay sat empty, its occupant still in space, en route from the Pegasus Galaxy.

And sitting in the far corner was the _Titan_.

The SGC's answer to the Al'kesh, the ship was similar in design to the F-304, only about half the size. Instead of hangar bays on either side, enhanced engine pods were slung on either side for increased speed and maneuverability. Rail guns lined the sides, top, and bottom of the main body, along with six missile tubes. The front of the _Titan_ was littered with sensor nodes and energy collections spires, while bridge slightly protruded from the slanted nose.

"Jack wanted to name her Defiant, but the Joint Chiefs shot him down."

Mitchell chuckled. "Who's the CO?"

"Pierce."

"No kidding!" Mitchell exclaimed. "Hawkeye! I thought she was teaching now."

"She can't fly 302's anymore," Carter corrected. "Doesn't mean she can't command the _Titan_."

Mitchell nodded absently, lost in the past. Major Elizabeth Pierce, under the call sign 'Hawkeye', had been in his squadron that had flown to the aid of SG-1 during the battle over Antarctica. She had been responsible for downing an Al'kesh that had been harassing SG-1's shuttle. In the process, her own 302 had been shot down and her copilot had been killed and Elizabeth herself had sustained grievous injuries, which had been much worse than Cameron's and had been laid up a full six months later than him. Her injuries were unfortunate on two fronts - on one hand; even fully recovered she would never be able to fly jets again. On the other hand, it had been discovered during the sweep testing of the Ancient gene that she possessed it- but she had been in a coma when the Atlantis expedition left, so she was unable to go with them. That little fact grated on her nerves even more than never flying anymore.

The last Mitchell had heard, Pierce had been teaching at the Air Force Academy, showing the next generation of 302 pilots how it's really done. And now here she was, commanding the latest SGC battleship. Mitchell couldn't help but smile and wonder how his old friend was handling her new assignment.

"Does nothing on this fucking ship work?"

Major Elizabeth Pierce sank back into the command chair and once again pushed her long brown hair out of her grey eyes. Grease and sweat marred her otherwise pretty face. Her BDU jacket was strewn on the floor by the chair, and her bare arms were covered in grime. Tiredly she looked over to the engineering console. "Can you please tell me why I just blacked out half of the ship when I activated the main sensors?"

Lieutenant Jennifer Hailey, resident genius and equally as dirty as her CO, leaned heavily on the console. "Looks like another bug in the power distribution network."

"How many bugs does that make it?"

"Three hundred and forty seven."

Pierce sighed. "Wonder if it's too late to get a transfer to the _Odyssey_." She mused, and then sighed. "All right, let's jiggle some wires and see if we can either fix it or come up with bug three hundred and forty eight."

"Surely it can't be all that bad." And amused voice said. Pierce spun around to face the intruders, and then smiled when she saw who it was. She pulled her self up out of the chair, wincing slightly at the stiffness in her leg, and stood at attention, offering a smart salute to the two Colonels.

"Colonel Carter, Colonel Mitchell."

"Major Pierce." Mitchell replied, smiling. "How've you been, Hawkeye?"

"Been better, Sir." Pierce replied. "Frankly, I'd rather be back in Antarctica then on this flying deathtrap. Actually, that's being too kind, as this thing can't even fly."

"Then I got bad news for you, Hawkeye." Mitchell said wryly. "Because we've got one month to get her space worthy."

There was a pause, and then Pieces spoke. "Permission to speak freely, sir."

"Granted."

"Are you fucking NUTS!"

"I don't think he meant THAT freely." Carter said sarcastically. Pierce eyed the Colonel.

"Colonel Carter, with all due respect, it is not possible to get this vessel ready in a month. Hailey, sound off!"

"The power distribution grid is full of bugs." Hailey said at once, ticking off of her fingers. "The sensor grids have yet to be properly aligned, the hyperdrive generator is only operating at 43 efficiency, and we don't know why, the weapons systems have yet to be fully integrated into the ships systems, we've had to install the Asgard transporter systems ourselves, but we can't test them until the power grid problems have been rectified. The shield generators have yet to be properly aligned and that's just the important stuff."

"The only thing at one hundred percent on this ship is the hull." Pierce finished. "Look, I know command wants its fleet, but seriously-"

"Three Wraith hive ships are en route to Earth, Liz." Mitchell interrupted. "The Prometheus is laid up, and all we'll have is the _Daedalus_ and the _Odyssey_. Teal'c is looking for more ships form the Jaffa, but it's not a lock. And the Asgard are MIA at the moment. We need every ship we can get our hands on, including this one."

"Colonel Mitchell and I will remain here, to help with getting this ship into service." Carter added. "But we've only got a month, so we need to stop debating and start getting to work."

Elizabeth ran her hand through her hair and sighed. "You're right, Colonel. In that case, you and Hailey should get down to the engine room and see about getting the power grid on line. Colonel Mitchell, you can assist me getting the tactical systems up and running. We'll concentrate on power, engines, weapons, and then everything else. Agreed?"

"Yes m'am" Mitchell replied amusedly. Pierce just glared at him.

"Then let's get to work."

The next month on the _Titan_ was especially hectic. Upon a thorough examination by Carter and Hailey, it was deemed that the entire power distribution grid had to be replaced, which took up the bulk of their time. To compensate, repairs on the Prometheus were put on hold so the techs could be transferred to the _Titan_ to assist.

Mitchell and Pierce managed to finish integrating and calibrating the weapons systems and had moved onto main sensors by the second week. Also around that time, the _Titan_'s crew were officially transferred to the ship and started pitching in with repairs. As befitting the new international agreements that the SGC had to adhere to, the command staff was multinational. There was also one very special addition to the crew…

"Cadet Cassandra Frasier, reporting as ordered, m'am." Cassie said, standing at attention and snapping off a smart salute at the once-again grimy Major. Pierce grimaced, then reached up, pulled down her hand and slapped a wrench into it. "Welcome aboard. You can help Shaft with the sensor array. Next!"

"Don't mind her; she gets a bit cranky when her ship doesn't work." Mitchell said, waving off another salute. "I'm Colonel Mitchell. Sam's told me a lot about you."

"She's told me some things about you, too." Cassie replied. "Don't worry, they were all good things."

The two moved over to the main control terminal for the sensor array, and Cassie went to work on the cover with the wrench. Mitchell looked at the girl curiously.

"So what's an Academy cadet doing on a ship of the line?" he asked as she popped the cover off of the console.

"After my mom died, I threw myself into my studies. My mom got me interested in medicine; Sam got me interested in science and technology. When I graduated high school, I enrolled in the academy's Medical program, while still taking classes in starship technology."

"You were planning on serving on one of these, then?"

"Yeah. It appeals to me. Traveling through space, fighting rouge Goa'ulds, patching up the crew…" Cassie shrugged. "Taking mom's work to the stars, in a way.'

"How'd you figure you get assigned to the fleet?"

"Well, my godfather is a rather high-placed retired General with a lot of favors to call in, and I'm friends with the head of Homeworld Security. I put in a call." She said modestly. Mitchell grinned.

"Nice."

"I thought so."

"Major, do you have a moment?"

"Not really, no." Pierce said, not looking up from the engineering console. "You need something, go bug Colonel Mitchell."

"I'm sorry Major, but we were told to report to you."

Pierce sighed and looked up from the console to the divers group of people before her, and was immediately surprised to find the woman who had spoken to her was dressed in a Chinese military uniform. "Did I miss something?"

"I am Captain Lin Yao Chu, of the People's Liberation Army Air Force. I've been ordered to report as your new XO." The striking woman announced. Five foot seven, with short-cropped black hair and a slim build that was only accentuated by her tailored uniform, Pierce could tell the lady would be turning the male heads of the crew in no time. But she doubted that Chu was just another pretty face; you had to be the best of the best to get on one of these ships, and she doubted the Chinese would send anybody who wasn't imminently qualified for the post.

Pierce pulled herself up and wiped her hands off on her pants, lazily returning the salutes from the officers in front of her. "I know who you are, Captain. But I was under the impression that all of you were still in heavy training."

"They decided that, under the circumstances, it would be a better idea for us to continue learning on board." Lin replied. "This is Captain Douglas Ramsey, our weapon's officer;" she pointed to the tall, well built American dressed in army fatigues who nodded in greeting, "the new chief medical officer Dr. Alexei Kostya;" the somewhat elderly Russian smiled and nodded, his short, salt and peppered hair gleaming in the harsh overhead lights, "and this is Cadet Kailee Robson." She pointed to a rather mousey looking cadet with short brown hair and a slight build that looked like she weighed about 97 pounds.

"Cadet? Why the hell is there another Cadet on my ship?" Pierce asked harshly, looking to gauge the young girl's reaction to her perceived hostility. To her amusement, Robson smiled lightly.

"I've spent most of my time at the Academy studying the technology behind the 302's and the 303's. I also spent time taking apart that Puddle Jumper SG-1 recovered. I have the ATA Gene," she said quickly before Pierce could ask, "And I seem to have a natural affinity for Ancient technology."

Pierce nodded. "Good. In that case, report to Lieutenant Hailey in Engineering, she'll need your help. Doctor," she turned to the Russian, "Cadet Frasier has been working on our sensors, but she's mainly a medic. She can assist you in setting up the medical bay. Ramsey, Colonel Mitchell's busy trying to get our weapon's systems to work, go lend him a hand. Captain Chu, you're also my helmswoman, right?"

"Yes, Major." She replied stiffly.

"Good. You can help me get the navigation computers and interfaces on line. We have two weeks left till deadline, people. The SGC needs this ship in the air, and that's exactly where I intend to have it."

"Yes, Sir!" the four officers intoned. Pierce nodded in satisfaction.

"Good, then let's get to work."

The next two weeks were a flurry of activity as more and more people arrived to prepare the SGC's small fleet for combat. Efforts were even being made to ready the Prometheus, though everyone pretty much agreed that it was a long shot for the flagship vessel to be operational.

The _Titan_, however slowly, was still coming along ahead of schedule. Cadet Robson, despite initially clashing with Lieutenant Hailey, were able to put aside their egos to bring the ship's power grid on line, and soon most of the other ship's systems followed.

"This ship's greatest strength," Pierce explained to Captain Chu one day, "is also its greatest weakness. This ship is loaded with Ancient technology recovered by various SG Teams, as well as the Atlantis expedition. That includes sensors, enhanced shields, engines, and even a pair of drone launchers we salvaged off the SG-1 time machine puddle jumper. However, it's a bitch to interface the Ancient technology with ours in the manner that we are doing it."

"But we have interfaced with Ancient technology before." The Chinese officer stated.

"True," Pierce replied, "but never to the degree we are at now. This ship is essentially an Aurora-class warship run by a Dell running Window's Millennium Edition. A vastly superior piece of technology with a substandard processor being controlled by an obsolete operating system that will crash at any given time."

"And this is the reason there has been so much trouble bringing this ship on-line." Chu reasoned. "And why every person with the ATA gene that wasn't on the Atlantis expedition has been assigned to this ship."

"Exactly. Otherwise, we wouldn't have so many low-ranking officers in charge or cadets in important positions." She paused and made some adjustments on her console. "Try it now, Captain."

Lin typed a few commands into the navigation console, and then smiled. "Mani engine status is green. Maneuvering engines are green. Navigational controls are green. Hyperdrive…" she frowned. "Hyperdrive is still off line."

Pierce turned to look at Ramsey, who sat next to Chu at the second forward station on the bridge. "Weapons status, Captain?"

"All rail gun batteries are showing full operational status. Missile tubes one through four and tubes five through eight are green across the board. Shields are reading as fully-functional, but we really need to test them."

"Drone launchers?"

Ramsey shook his head. "We had problems incorporating the Puddle Jumper's power plant into the ships power grid. As you know, it takes a lot of power to launch drones, usually necessitating the use of a ZPM. The puddle jumpers incorporate a unique power source that powers all of the jumper's systems, and is then recharged when it docks with the city. We pulled the generator, but we were unable to successfully integrate it into the _Titan_'s power grid and we had to pull it out all together. Hailey hooked the launchers into the main power grid, but she has warned me that any attempt to fire them could blow the entire power grid."

Pierce considered that for a moment. "Well that sucks." She finally said, then turned to Cassie. "Cadet, how are our sensors?"

"Not entirely aligned, but working at 98. Hailey also told me that the transporters were on line and fully functional."

Pierce raised an eyebrow. "I thought the Asgard didn't finish installing all of their stuff." She said.

"They installed it, just didn't finish installing it, sir." Frasier said. "But between Colonel Carter, Lieutenant Hailer and Robson, we figured they were equal to at least one Asgard."

Pierce laughed. "Yeah, I don't doubt that. In fact-" she was cut off as sirens started blaring through the ship and red warning lights started flashing. "Ah, hell." She jabbed a key on her command chair, opening communications between the bridge and the engineering compartment. "Hailey, for cryin' out loud…"

"It's not us, Major." The young Lieutenants voice came back. "The _Titan_'s at about 85 and no glitches are popping up."

"Well then what the hell's going on?" Pierce demanded. "How the hell do you have a red alert in dry dock?"

"Incoming communication from the SGC!" Frasier said. "It's General Landry."

"Put it on the big screen." Pierce said turning in her chair as the schematic of the _Titan_ on the left wall was replaced by the face of General Landry. "General." She said formally.

"Major, what's the status of the _Titan_?"

"We're at 85 operational status, sir. Shields and weapons are on line, engines are good to go."

"Glad to hear that, because the Wraith have arrived." There was dead silence on the bridge. "Three Wraith hive ships have exited hyperspace at the edge of the system. Teal'c has several Free Jaffa mother ships in orbit, and the _Korlev_, _Odyssey_, and _Daedalus_ are en route. I want you to join them, ASAP."

"Yes, sir." Pierce said, and the screen switched back to the schematic as the connection was cut. Elizabeth sat back in her chair and tuned on the general communications button. "All hands, this is Major Pierce. The Wraith have arrived in system and our forces were moving to intercept. We have been ordered to move into orbit to join the task force and protect this planet from the Wraith. Now, I know this ship is not fully operational, not at all tested, and that the crew is untried; but I know that each and every one of you will do this ship, this command, and this planet proud today." She paused to take a breath. "All hands to battle stations. Colonel's Carter and Mitchell to the bridge. Captain Chu, contact control and have them retract the roof, then set inertial compensators and shields to maximum and engage launch sequence." She sat back in her chair as the powerful engines lifted the ship out of its berth and up through the retracted opening above. "Let's go be heroes."

**TBC…..**

Next chapter- Earth and its allies engage the Wraith over Earth, the _Titan_ makes its presence felt, and Jack O'Neill returns.


	2. Chapter 2: The Battle For Earth

**Chapter 2: The Battle for Earth**

**Disclaimer: see Chapter 1. As always, thanks to my beta CT Malone**

* * *

The Titan rose rapidly out of the atmosphere and into orbit, moving between several Jaffa ships to take its position behind the Odyssey. Pierce had to admit it was an impressive sight - seven Ha'taks, four Al'kesh, and the four Earth Battle Cruisers, along with several groups of fighters she thought as the Titan moved gracefully into position and came to a stop.

"Report, Jameson." Pierce said, gazing out the forward viewport.

"The fleet is in position," the weapon's officer reported as Colonel's Carter and Mitchell came on to the bridge. "The Jaffa vessels are launching their gliders; so are the Korlev and the Daedalus. Odyssey is requesting that Colonel Mitchell report to their hanger to lead the Snake Handlers."

"Contact the Odyssey and have them beam me on board." Mitchell said. Jameson looked to Carter.

"You as well, sir?" he asked, looking towards Carter. She shook her head.

"No, I'll be staying behind to help Hailey and Robson keep this bird in the air."

"Very good, sir" Pierce said. "Jameson, lower the shields and contact the Odyssey, tell them they have a go for transport. As soon as he's away, raise the shields.."

"Relaying message now Major" he said. After a moment, the bright white flash of the Asgard transporter beam whisked Mitchell away. "Raising shields" he announced, and a steady, low-level hum sounded throughout the ship.

"I better get back to engineering." Carter announced. "You have command, Major."

"Yes m'am" Pierce replied. "Frasier, what's the status and disposition of the Wraith?"

"Three Hive ships, seven cruisers, and hundreds of darts" Cassie said, gulping slightly at the size of the fleet. "They will move past the moon and into Earth orbit within the next few minutes."

Pierce nodded and hit the general comms button on her chair. "All hands, this is Major Pierce. Prepare to engage the enemy." She tapped off the button and looked to Jameson. "Sound general quarters, arm all rail guns and load all missile tubes. Captain Chu, coordinate with Homeworld Security and the Odyssey on our attack run." There were several 'acknowledged' as the crew prepared for battle. Pierce sat back in her chair and grinned grimly. "Let's show these prehistoric bitches how we do things downtown."

* * *

Colonel Emerson stared out the forward viewports of the Odyssey as the fleet formed up around them. His ship had been designated the unofficial flagship of the rag tag fleet. To his left was the Korlev, commanded by Colonel Chekov; to his right sat the Daedalus, commanded by Colonel Caldwell; and behind and above him sat the Titan, commanded by Major Pierce. Out of all of the Earth ships, that one caused him the most concern- a half-built ship rushed into service with a known maverick in command? Not exactly who he wanted to watch his six, but orders were orders.

More to his liking were the Free Jaffa ships that Bra'tac had brought with him. The seven Ha'taks and the Al'kesh, along with their gliders, should give the Wraith a real run for their money…

Further musings were brought to a halt as a hyperspace window opened up in the distance, and from it three massive Wraith hive ships spilled forth. Each Hive ship dwarfed the Earth ships and the Jaffa ships, and Emerson felt a stab of fear pierce through him. He brushed it aside however and hit the comms switch. "Launch all fighters," he announced.

* * *

Bra'tac looked out the forward viewer as the massive Hive ships as they made their way past the Earth's moon. Jaffa moved hurriedly behind him, readying weapons and positioning ships. He knew that the future of not only the Jaffa Nation but of this galaxy was riding on this battle. He only wished he had been able to acquire more ships…

"Master Bra'tac, the enemy ships are taking up positions, and are launching fighters and assault craft." One of the Jaffa announced. Bra'tac turned to him- a young warrior named Torrel.

"What about shields and weapons?"

"It would appear that the hive ship's weapons are powering up. No shields have been detected."

Bra'tac smiled. "Then I would assume that they do not have any. Launch the Death Gliders, and order the Al'kesh to begin bombing runs on the hive ships. Let us join in battle one last time."

* * *

Major Pierce looked out as swarms of Wraith Darts flew from the holds of the hive ships towards Earths, followed by several cruisers.

"Jeeze, how many ships did they pack into the Hives?" Pierce muttered to herself. "Frasier, begin sensor sweeps. Try to locate any human life signs on the Hives- hopefully we'll get lucky and find the Atlantis people. Captain Ramsey, weapons free. Captain Chu, begin attack run- aim for the starboard Hive." Both officers register in the affirmative, and the battle was joined.

The Hive ships opened fire, powerful blue bolts of energy lancing towards the allied fleet even as their Darts swarmed in and pounded at their shields. F-302's and Death Gliders screamed into the battle, firing missiles, high-velocity rounds, and plasma bursts and taking down scores of the darts. But the more they destroy, the more that seemed to appear to take their place.

The Ha'taks opened fire on the Hive ships punching holes in the ships living skin. However they were soon set upon by the Wraith cruisers. Each of the 304's took one Hive and moved in to attack, their rail guns firing and missiles flying, but most shots were being intercepted by darts. The Al'kesh were having better luck, but only marginally so. While they had begun their bombing runs, already two of the ships had been destroyed.

And in the middle of all of this the Titan flew, her shields flaring and weapons firing as the nimble ship moved between the cruisers and the Hives. On the bridge, Major Pierce was shouting orders to her crew as Cassie studied her sensor readings. A sudden blip on her board caused her to shout in excitement.

"Major!" the cadet shouted over the din, getting her CO's attention. "I've got a lock on Colonel Sheppard's transponder, and two more human life signs in his immediate vicinity." She paused as she studied her board, "I'm also detecting Wraith life signs closing in."

Pierce nodded and hit her chair console, opening a channel to engineering. "Lieutenant Hailey, please tell me the transporters are working."

There was a pause before Hailey responded. "Uhhh…they should work, Major."

"Should?"

"Keep in mind, m'am that the Asgard have been AWOL, so we've had to install the systems they left behind for us ourselves. Now Colonel Carter and I installed it, and checked it over, and everything seems good… but it's never been tested."

Pierce sighed. "Fine; any hope of breaking their transporter jamming?"

"If we can disrupt the power distribution on their ship, the jamming should be interrupted long enough for us to beam them out." Carter said.

"Can we beam something in at the same time?" Pierce asked. "Say, a nuclear warhead?"

"Negative." Carter responded. "All of their safeguards are still in place, and there is no way I can override them fast enough."

"Fair enough, stand by for transport." Pierce looked back to Cassie. "Cadet, give me a target to get the most amount of disruption with the least amount of danger to our people."

"The engines." Cassie said after a moment. "They're still drawing a lot of power. We take them out, we could have a shot."

Pierce turned to her two forward officers. "Ramsey, prepare a volley of missiles, I want them launched simultaneously. Chu, plot a course for the center Hive- take us right over the top, then do a quick about once we're past it. As soon as she lines you up Ramsey, take the shot."

The Titan surged forward as the engines flared to full power, sending the vessel speeding towards the center hive. The shields flared as several hits found their mark before Chu started weaving the vessel between the blasts, finally finding the safe lane right down the center of the vessel. As the nose of the hive filled the window Chu pushed down on the stick, and the Titan sped up and over the ships large living body. The other two Hives tried to fire across the ship to get the Titan, but Chu's skilful maneuvering kept them out of harms way.

As soon as the Titan cleared the rear of the ship, Chu activated the maneuvering thrusters even as she reversed power on the engines. The ship flipped 180 degrees, and suddenly the snubbed-nose bow of the ship was pointing directly at the banks of engines that were arrayed at the rear of the ship. Without waiting, Ramsey fired his missiles, along with a steady burst from the forward rail guns.

Six missiles armed with Mark VIII tactical nuclear warheads launched from their vertical tubes on the fore section of the Titan. Unimpeded by any Darts, the warheads streaked towards the rear of the ship. Without waiting, Chu threw the engines into a full powered burn and sped past the speeding missiles under the ship. The explosion as the nukes found their target rocked the smaller ship, and the Hive ships started to founder, listing to its starboard side before moving down on top of them.

"Oh, shit!" Pierce exclaimed. "Chu, get us out of here!"

"I'm on it, Major!" the Captain responded, putting the ship onto it's side and streaking up through the large open space at the fore end of the Hive ship at that same instant Hailey's voiced sounded over the intercom.

"The jammers are down! Initiating transport…"

There was a loud wine and the bridge lights dimmed, then suddenly there was a bright flash. The light faded quickly, leaving behind the stunned faces of Colonel Sheppard, Dr. McKay, and Ronan. Pierce was about to welcome them aboard when suddenly the ship was wracked with a terrible shudder. Conduits exploded and sparks flew, displays flickered and died and the ship was thrown sideways, sending everybody who wasn't sitting down tumbling. Chu struggled to get the ship back under control, and finally they sped away from the burning hulk of the Hive ship

"Report!" Pierce shouted as systems returned to normal.

"Their fuel lines ruptured" Cassie responded. "The blast blew off most of the rear end of the ship; after that the rest of it blew."

"Ship status?" Pierce called to Ramsey, who checked his board.

"We lost two port side rail guns, missile tubes 3 and 5 are badly damaged, and we have a hull breach on deck 4, section 3. Shield strength is down to twenty percent."

Piece nod and turned to her 'guests'. "Colonel Sheppard, Dr. McKay, Ronan, welcome aboard the Titan. Forgive me for not saluting, but we have a bit of a situation going on…"

"That all right, just thanks for the rescue!" Sheppard replied.

"I'm just glad the transporters actually worked!" Rodney said, looking out the window to the burning hull that was once a warship.

"So are we." Pierce replied. "They hadn't been tested yet."

"WHAT!"

"Calm down, McKay. Unless you want to go back." Ronan said calmly, moving to a corner to get out of the way.

"Calm down? Calm down! Do you know what could have happened to us if the transporter beam had malfunctioned…?"

"Do you know what I'm going to do to you if you don't shut up?"

"Children, if you don't start behaving I'll turn this ship right around." Pierce said easily. "Dr. McKay, perhaps you could help Colonel Carter and Lieutenant Hailey in engineering. Colonel Sheppard, if you would, could you assist Captain Ramsey at tactical, sir?"

"No problem." He replied, moving to the weapon's officer's side. Rodney just muttered unintelligible things as he stalked off of the bridge... Pierce then turned to Ronan. "So, what can you do?"

"Not much in here."

"Then perhaps you could assist Cadet Frasier in aiding any injured crew members. Cadet, go find Novak and assist with the injured."

"Yes, sir!" Cassie said as she took off from the bridge, Ronan in tow. Sheppard made his way over to the abandoned station and sat down and gave it a quick study.

"Let's see here… looks like the Al'kesh have been either disabled or destroyed, along with three of the Ha'taks. The Korlev is drifting in space and is being protected by the Daedalus, who's also taking a pounding. The Odyssey was holding her own, but just barely."

"What's the good news, sir?" she asked.

"A lot of the darts have been destroyed, along with all of the cruisers. You destroyed one Hive; the other two are damaged. I suggest we target the one going after the Korlev and the Daedalus- it's the worst off."

"Chu set the course" Pierce said at once. "Ramsey, how many missiles do we have left?"

"Three we can fire, Major."

"Then fire them when you get a shot."

The Titan sped towards the second Hive ship, with Chu deftly maneuvering between as many blasts as she could. She couldn't dodge them all, however, and the ship was rocked several times with alarming ferocity.

"Lieutenant Hailey, can you shore up our shields?" Piece asked into the com.

"We're trying Major. But it's kind of hard to do while taking fire. Any chance you could withdraw for a few minutes?"

"Negative. Do what you can."

The Titan shot past the damaged 304's, taking several shots for them in the process. She moved down the starboard side of the ship and, as soon as they were parallel to the fighter bay, Ramsey loosed their missiles-

Which were all intercepted by kamikaze Darts.

"Damn!" Sheppard growled. "Can't you beam the warheads into the bays?"

Pierce shook her head. "No. Even if we got the jammers off line, the transporters are still under the influence of the original Asgard fail-safes. And we don't have one on hand to reprogram them."

"Plus we're out of missiles" Ramsey pointed out. Pierce thought for a few moments then sighed.

"But we do have drones."

"WHAT?" Sheppard exclaimed.

"Hailey fitted drones and launchers recovered from the time machine jumper into this ship."

"But they weren't able to get them to work with our power grid!" Ramsey exclaimed. "We fire those things, we risk blowing out the whole grid!"

"We don't fire them, and we loose the Odyssey and the Korlev. And I won't loose any more ships, or people." She hit the intercom switch on her chair. "Lieutenant Hailey, Colonel Carter, prepare the drone launchers."

"With all due respect Major Pierce, this is a monumentally bad idea." Carter's voice sounded. Pierce sighed.

"It may be a bad idea, but it's the only one we got. We're almost beaten here, and we need to get rid of this Hive. So unless you wish to take command, sir, please ready the launchers."

There was a moment of silence, where Pierce really did think Carter would assume command, until Hailey finally answered "Readying launchers."

The two salvaged drone launchers rose from the top of the ship, just forward of the puddle jumper launching bays. Control of the launcher was automatically transferred to Pierce's chair as she was (with the exception of Sheppard) the only person on the ship to have the ATA gene. In quick succession, sixteen drones launched from the ship, streaking towards the Hive. Piece closed her eyes and concentrated, instinctively controlling the drones even as the power flickered throughout the ship. They flew around and past Wraith darts that couldn't intercept them in time. Almost as one, the drones flew into the open hanger of the Hive, causing massive explosions.

"Chu, get us out of here!" Pierce yelled even as the ship was turning away from the Hive. Chu had managed to point them back towards the planet when the Hive finally exploded, sending a massive shockwave into space that slammed into the failing shields of the Titan. It proved too much for the ailing power grid, as dozens of conduits exploded throughout the ship. Finally the power died, and the ship drifted in space.

* * *

Colonel Emerson watched as the Titan launched a small wave of drones towards the second Hive ship, and then watched it explode brilliantly. He noted with dismay that the shock wave had apparently been too much for the small Earth ship, and watched as it drifted back towards their failing line. He felt a small pang of shame that he had doubted Major Pierce earlier; her and her little ship had managed to destroy two Hive ships and rescue the Atlantis crew.

A shuddering blast brought him back to the present. The Jaffa ships had all been disabled or destroyed, though Bra'tac was still putting up a fight. Most of the 302's were out of ammunition and the ones that had survived had been diverted back to Area 51 for refueling and re-arming. The Korlev was dead in the water; the Daedalus wasn't far behind. That essentially left the Odyssey to take on the last Hive ship and the surviving Darts.

"Status of the last Hive?" Emerson asked his weapon's officer.

"She's a bit banged up, but she escaped most of the fighting thus far. The ship is already starting to repair some of the damage."

"Then this is it." Emerson said. "Helm, set course for the Hive ship. Full military thrust." He hit the intercom on his chair. "All hands, brace for collision."

"Sir!" the lieutenant at the sensor station shouted. "Hyperspace window forming! Multiple contacts!"

"Who?" Emerson asked, a feeling of dread creeping up on him. If it was more Wraith ships…

The young lieutenant looked up from her screen and out through the window, looking at the purple hyperspace portal form- from which first one, then three, then eight Asgard ships emerged.

* * *

The Titan may have been out of control, but everybody on the bridge got a good view as eight Asgard ships emerged from hyperspace and opened fire on the Wrath. The Hive returned fire, but it was a useless gesture- they were no match for the mighty O'Neill class ships. After only a minute of pounding, the Hive ship exploded in a brilliant flash of light. 

"Holy Hannah!" Carter exclaimed as she came onto the bridge. "The Asgard!"

"You see, now why couldn't they give us cool guns like that?" Sheppard asked sarcastically as Pierce nodded.

"No kidding." She replied then turned to Carter. "What's the situation, Sir?"

"The launchers put a huge strain on the transfer circuits, but it was the shockwave that finished them off. We've got some naquada generators powering life-support and artificial gravity, and we're trying to tie in communications as well…"

She was cut off as a figure of light formed in the middle of the bridge, coalescing into a hologram of a very familiar face.

"Honey, I'm home!" Jack O'Neill said with a wave and his trademark grin. He looked at the stunned Carter and waved his holographic hand in front of her face. "Sam? Helloooo…"

Carter shook herself out of her daze. "Sir?"

Jack sighed. "Sam, how long have we been going out? Heck, how long have I been retired? Stop calling me sir for cryin' out loud!

"Jack, what's going on? Where have you been?" Carter demanded. Jack winced.

"Well, you see… a few months ago Thor contacted me. And by contacted me, I mean he beamed me up to his ship. It seems that, after every thing we've done for the Asgard, they decided that it may be in their best interests to have further relations with us."

"Meaning we keep saving their butts, and they want to keep us around and happy so we could do it again in the future." Sheppard reasoned. Jack smiled and gestured at the Colonel.

"See? I knew I like this kid!" Jack said. "That's pretty much exactly it. So, Thor brought me back with him to finalize an arrangement."

"You?"

"Hey, they like me!" Jack said, defending himself. "Anyways, We just finished things off when we learned the Wraith were almost at Earth. I'm glad we got here in time…"

"So are we, sir." Major Pierce said. "And we'd sure appreciate it if you could ask the Asgard to beam my crew off of the ship before life support fails."

"No problem, Major. We're evacuating the survivors right now, and Thor assures me that the Samantha Carter is standing by to effect repairs on the damaged ships…"

"Wait, Jack… the Samantha Carter?" Carter asked, befuddled. Jack chuckled.

"An Asgard ship tender. More like a floating space dock, really. Should be able to patch up the ships lickity split. In the mean time, however, I think I should report to Landry. Things are going to be changing around here…"

**TBC**


	3. Chapter 3: A New Mission

**Chapter 3**

**A New Mission**

* * *

A round of cheers greeted Major Pierce as she and her crew exited the elevator on the 28th floor of the SGC.

"What?! Stop, you're embarrassing me!" she exclaimed with a warm smile, then pointed back to her helmswoman. "Give it up for the exceptional flying of Captain Cho!" The crowd applauded some more, and the Chinese officer gave a rare smile.

"Well done, Major." General Landry said, coming to the fore of the group. The _Titan_ crew snapped to attention. "Major, Captains. Congratulations on a job well done."

"Thank you, sir." Pierce replied warmly. Her features hardened as she spied the person behind him.

"Yes, Major. Congratulations." Major General William Macmillan said, stepping to the front. "Of course, surrounding yourself with such bright, talented officers will always be a way to hide your numerous failings."

"You'd know all about that, _sir._" She replied acidly to her superior officer.

"Okay, kids. Enough bickering, we got better things to do." Jack cut in quickly wanting to avoid a confrontation. "Major Pierce, why don't you and your crew get dinner on me in the mess hall; Bill, nice to see you; mind telling me just what the hell you're doing here?"

"Please Jack, another attack on Earth? Do you think the Joint Chiefs' wouldn't get involved here this time?"

"Well, then it's a good thing you're here" Jack said, putting a hand on his shoulder and guiding him down the old, familiar hallways. "Because, man do I have a story to tell you."

* * *

Soon SG-1, along with Thor, Bra'tac, and the three General's were seated in the briefing room. O'Neill cleared his throat and began to speak.

"As you know, several months ago I retired. The reasons were personal and are not up for debate," he said pointedly, looking directly at MacMillan. "Nor is that why we are here today. No, in actuality the reason we are here now happened about two months after I retired. There I was minding my own business and watching hockey when suddenly I found myself on board Thor's ship.

**Flasback: Thor's Ship in Earth Orbit**

_Several Months Prior_

"_Welcome, O'Neill."_

"_Ah, for cryin' out loud, I'm retired!" Jack whined as Thor made his way around the control panel towards him. "Thor, buddy- it's not that I'm not happy to see you, but I don't save the world anymore. And the Blues are playing the Canucks!"_

"_I am sorry to pull you off of Earth with no warning O'Neill, but an urgent matter has arisen on the new Asgard Homeworld and the senior council members have requested your presence."_

"_The Asgard Council, has requested me? Why?" Jack asked, befuddled._

"_Because they wish to redefine the terms of the relationship between the Asgard and the Tau'ri."_

**End Flashback**

"In the end, they wanted expand their role in the SGC. Specifically, they wanted to begin the placement of Asgard personnel on our ships the emplacement and use of enhanced Asgard shields, engines…and weapons."

There was a collective moment of silence as the varied generals and administrators took in that news. Finally, Daniel broke the silence.

"The Asgard chose you to broker a new treaty with them for use of their weapons systems and the placement of their people?" asked Daniel incredulously.

"Yup."

"You." Daniel reiterated. Jack shrugged helplessly.

"They like me."

"Getting back to the point," MacMillan interrupted. "Are you saying that the Asgard have agreed to give us advanced weapons technology?"

"Not quite." Jack said who then turned to his friend. "Thor?"

"We will agree to equip your vessels with Asgard designed weapons, though they will be several generations older than the ones we currently use. However, we will also be installing current generation hyperdrive engines and shields. In exchange, we will require that at least one Asgard technician be stationed on each vessel. This is non-negotiable." Thor added, sensing MacMillan's imminent objection.

"And I see no problem with it, Thor." Hammond replied cutting off MacMillian. He had dealt with the likes of MacMillian for years and wasn't going to let him waylay what sounded like a heaven sent blessing. Besides, they needed someone to show them how to use the equipment and who better then the Asgard. "In fact, we would be honored to have your people serving with ours."

"Make no mistake- this is not charity." Thor continued evenly. "As we rebuilt our society over the past year, the Asgard Council has had to re-evaluate our role in this universe, along with the way we have regarded certain races- including yours. Quite frankly, had it not been for the intervention and assistance of the SGC and SG-1 in particular, the Asgard as a species would have ceased to exist. And we realized that if we were to have any hope of rising once again to be the defenders of this galaxy, we will need your help in the future."

"So this is a mutually beneficial agreement." Jack finished. "They give us something we need, and we agree to back them up if they ever need help. Which is what we would do anyway."

There was some assorted murmuring between the three generals, before Hammond looked back to Thor.

"The President will need to sign off on this, but I can pretty much guarantee that he will."

"Likewise, you have the support of the Joint Chief's." MacMillan added. Thor nodded.

"Very well" he said. "We have already begun repairs on the _Titan_; I will instruct the crew to begin replacing the necessary equipment."

"Once again, we thank you for your assistance Thor." General Landry said, then he turned to Daniel. "You also had something you wanted to bring up in this meeting, Dr. Jackson?"

"Uh, yes" Daniel said, pulling out a notebook. "As you know, I've spent the past month studying the photos of the ruins on P3X-927…"

"No, I didn't." Jack interrupted, bringing Daniel up short.

"Right, because you were with the Asgard…hammering out a new treaty" said Daniel with a frown as he cleared his throat and ignored the roll of Jack's eyes. "Anyways, I've been studying the ruins, and the writing on it is definitely Ancient and it is definitely talking about the Lost City."

"I've seen this show." Mitchell interrupted. "Didn't you all find it already?"

"That's just it- it speaks of another Lost City."

"They sure did loose cities back then." Jack remarked. "And we wonder why they're not around any more?"

"I assumed it was because the all ascended." Thor remarked.

"There is that." Jack conceded.

"Anyway," Daniel interrupted, trying to bring the meeting back under order, "they call the city Avalon, though this would seem to have less to do with the Arthurian legend than it has to do with the Celtic mythology as a paradise. It speaks of an almost utopian setting but that's not the best part. Apparently Avalon, while it wasn't their capital city, housed one of their main manufacturing centers which churned out everything from star ships to ZPM's." he looked up from his notebook directly at Hammond. "Sir, if Atlantis survived ten thousand years under an ocean, it stands to reason that this city must also still exist. And if it does, it most likely contains, if not the devices to do so, than at least the technical readouts that would enable us to build our own Zero Point Modules." Daniel then turned to O'Neill. "Jack, it would be like having access to a library of the Ancients, without having it downloaded into your head!"

"Yeah, wouldn't want to repeat that experience again. And again. And again." he deadpanned.

"Do these ruins provide any clue as to where it is, Doctor?" Landry asked. Daniel hesitated then nodded.

"The writing clearly indicates that Atlantis was the Alterian's capital City back here on Earth, and they also state that there would be a record of every Alterian city's destination during their exodus from Earth. I believe that the location of not only Avalon, but every Alterian city, is located inside of Atlantis' database."

"Assuming that's the case," MacMillan started, "and assuming we find the city, what then? Do we send people through the Stargate, or would we send ships?"

"I would recommend against using the Stargate sir" Carter said. "It draws a lot of power out of the ZPM to gate between Pegasus and Earth; it might draw even more if we were to use it to jump to Avalon which for all we know could be a lot farther away then Pegasus. We shouldn't risk depleting it until we know we can at least build an Earth equivalent ZPM."

"Then we send ships." MacMillan reasoned. "In that case, we would need to plan for the best and get another expedition team ready to go. They would be ferried by one of our 304's."

"With all due respect, sir," Mitchell interrupted, "A mission of this magnitude will need a lot of people, more than can be carried on one 304. I would suggest putting together a small fleet of ships- ours, the Asgard, maybe even some Jaffa vessels as a show of cooperation. We get the people we need while the Asgard fix the ships and then we set out for Atlantis. A few days waylaid there before heading out in search of Avalon."

"We will leave a small group of our ships here to fend off any further attack from the Wraith or any of the remaining Goa'ulds." Thor announced. "We will commit a science vessel, two destroyers, and the _Samantha Carter_ to this expedition."

"We, likewise, will keep a small number of ships in the system," Bra'tac added, "However, I will dedicate three Ha'taks and their fighter wings to this expedition."

MacMillan nodded, he then looked to Hammond. "In that case, sir, I say we commit all of our ships:_ Odyssey, Daedalus, Titan_, and the _Korlev_, if the Russians agree."

"You want to commit every ship in our fleet to this mission?" Hammond asked skeptically. MacMillan shook his head.

"Daedalus will take up station at Atlantis; and with the help of the Asgard we can finish the _Apollo_ in half the time. But if this city still exists, than we should commit everything we have to finding it."

"I agree, George." Jack put in. "And we should start planning immediately. We need to go through personnel jackets, resumes, and every single file on every person that was considered for Atlantis."

"We also," MacMillan put in, leaning forward to look Jack directly in the eye, "should begin assigning new commanders to our fleet." His eyes narrowed and a slight scowl formed on his face, "Starting with the _Titan_."

* * *

"A toast, to the crew of the _Titan_!" Sheppard said, raising his mug of coffee. "For pulling our asses out _and_ taking the bad guys down at the same time!"

"Here, here!" Ronan added, raising his own glass. Pierce, Frasier, Ramsey, Chu, Hailey, Robson and Kostya raised their mugs in return.

"Just doin' what we could with what we had." Pierce replied nonchalantly. "I'm just glad the transporters worked."

"Yes, about that…" Rodney started only to be cut off by Sheppard.

"McKay, shut up and drink your coffee." Rodney muttered darkly under his breath, but lifted the mug to his lips anyways. Sheppard shook his head slightly. "Okay, so I got to know," he asked Pierce, "What was up between you and General MacMillan?"

Pierce's face darkened at the mention of the General. "He's an asshole. I need another reason?"

"I could make it an order…" Sheppard replied good-naturedly in a sing-song voice. Pierce rolled her eyes and sighed.

"A few years ago, after I was promoted to Major, I was stationed over in Germany. General MacMillan was the head of my base, and he was known for his….womanizing ways. He especially likes to flirt with the female officers."

"Guy never heard about Tailhook I guess." Sheppard remarked. Pierce just snorted.

"MacMillan's connected up the ass, pardon my bluntness sir. He doesn't care about little things like rules and regs when he sees a rack he wants bent over his desk."

"And he wanted you?"

"He finally got around to asking. In a perfectly polite and gentle way, I told him no."

"I heard you kicked him in the balls, sir" Cassie said, then blanched. "Sorry, sir."

"You kicked a General in the balls?" Ramsey asked, wincing in sympathy. Pierce just shrugged.

"Yeah, and got thirty days in the brig; then got transferred to Afghanistan."

"That sounds like fun." Sheppard remarked. "And I speak from experience."

"He wanted me KIA'd, I know it." Pierce remarked. "I can't prove it, but I know it. I flew supply choppers and rode in convoys. Our convoy was attacked one day, and I got separated from my team. I got orders over the radio to fall back. Instead, I commandeered a truck and broke through the enemy lines to get my men before getting out of dodge. Got a commendation for bravery, another thirty for disobeying orders, and a reassignment to Arizona; where they put me in the X-302 program and I ended up flying in Antarctica during the assault. Downed an Al'kesh before I got taken out, and when I woke up I found out that I couldn't fly jets anymore because of my knee. They also informed me that I had the ATA gene, but I had missed the Atlantis expedition. That really sucked, I always wanted to fly in space."

"Well, you finally got your chance." Sheppard pointed out. "And you got a damn fine ship, too."

"But not at first. The hand of MacMillan reached out and had me transferred to the Air Force Academy. Let me tell you something- there is nothing, NOTHING worse for a pilot than teaching a bunch of snot-nosed rookies the insides of a cockpit from a classroom because you can't get in one yourself. It took me calling in the favor from General O'Neill to get me command of the _Titan_."

"Take hart, sir." Ramsey said, putting a hand on Pierce's shoulder, "Everyone knows that MacMillan's an ass. Hell, even the brass in that meeting knows he's an ass. Just ride it out until we clear orbit again…"

"And you should know you made a lot of friends today." Sheppard added. "Even Colonel Emerson was singing your praises, not to mention the Russians."

Pierce had the good grace to blush. "Yeah, well…" a throat clearing got her attention and she turned to see Carter standing behind her. "Colonel Carter, sir." She said standing and saluting. "Care to join us?"

Carter saluted in returned, then shook her head. "No, Major. I actually need to see you outside for moment."

"Yes, sir." Pierce downed the rest of her drink, then followed the Colonel out of the mess hall.

"So what can I do for you, Colonel?" Pierce asked pleasantly, standing at ease in the hallway. Carter, for her part, stood uneasily.

"First off, I wanted to say that you did a damn fine job up there today. Pulling together your crew, getting the _Titan_ combat-ready- sacrificing your ship to save the _Odyssey_ and the _Korlev_- a lot of people owe you and your crew their thanks, as well as their lives."

"My crew deserves them more than I, sir. They did a great job with half a ship." She paused for a moment. "Speaking of that, the _Titan_-"

"The _Titan_ is being repaired and upgraded as we speak by the Asgard." Carter replied. "We're going to need every ship we've got…"

"Are there more Wraith coming?"

"No. We believe that all of the Wraith ships that knew the location of Earth were destroyed in the battle." Carter assured her. "No, we've got a new mission- which is what I needed to talk to you about." Carter took a deep breath to brace her self then soldiered on. "We have an opportunity to acquire more ZPM's for Atlantis; and possibly another Ancient city. General MacMillan decided that the whole fleet should proceed on the mission- including the _Titan_."

"That's great. I'll let the crew know-"

"He also decided that, on such an important mission, someone with a higher rank than Major should command the _Titan_."

_Ah, there was the other shoe dropping._

"I…I see." Pierce managed to stammer out. "Am I being dropped down to another post, or reassigned?"

"Reassigned," Carter confirmed sadly. Pierce staightened her back, and she put on a small smile.

"I see. Well, I do have the ATA gene- will I be reassigned to Atlantis?" she asked hopefully. The smile soon dropped at the look on her face.

"No. MacMillan put in your orders to be reassigned back to the Academy."

In that moment, the heart of Major Elizabeth Pierce broke.

"I see." She said in a deadly calm voice. "I see."

"Elizabeth…"

"I bust my ass to get that ship ready…I bust my crew's ass to get them ready…we take down two Wraith hives, probably save the _Korlev_- help to save the fuckin' planet- and what do I get? A pat on the back, a 'Good job, Mate', and then I get sent back to HELL!"

"Major!" Carter yelled, trying to rein Pierce in however, she was just warming up.

"All I ever wanted was to be in the Air Force. All I ever wanted was to serve my county, fly fast jets and blow the shit out of something. Instead I get FUCKED because I refused to BLOW A GENERAL!"

"Major! Stand down right now!" Carter ordered.

"Stand down? You want me to stand down? Here," she reached up and ripped the wings off of her uniform. "If this is the kind of shit that I'm going to have to put up with, if this is the kind of treatment that a supposed hero gets for giving it her all, then I'm done with it." Pierce threw her wings at Carter, who instinctively caught them. "Consider this my resignation, Colonel. And tell the good General that he can shove those wings up his ass, if there's room beside his head!" With that, Pierce spun and limped down the corridor towards the elevators, leaving a stunned Carter- and mess hall- behind.

Of everybody, Colonel Sheppard was the first to speak.

"What the HELL?"

Numbly, Carter looked down at the wings in her hand, then sighed sadly.

"Well, looks like MacMillan got his wish." She said. The crowed started muttering to themselves as Walter came up behind Sheppard.

"Excuse me, Colonel Sheppard? Atlantis just dialed in and they are asking to speak to you."

"Is it Dr. Weir on the line?" he asked, Walter just nodded. "Good, Elizabeth and I have to have a little chat."

**TBC**


	4. Chapter 4: A Major Walks into a Bar

**Chapter 4**

**A Major Walks into a bar- and it hurt.**

* * *

"Don! Another!" Pierce yelled, raising her glass at the bartender. Elizabeth had managed to storm off the base without being stopped, which she counted as a blessing. But even though she had effectively resigned, she wouldn't put it past MacMillan to have her arrested and jailed for her actions pending her dishonorable discharge. So with that thought in her head, she had resigned herself to getting so blitzed that she wouldn't realize she was beating up MP's until she was thrown in the cell.

"So far, so good" she thought hazily to herself.

"I think you're done, Liz" Don said, eying his customer. "That ain't kool-aid you're drinking."

"No shit." Pierce replied then fished her car keys out of her pocket. She held them up for the bartender to see before tossing them to him. Don deftly caught the keys and placed them in a bowl behind the bar. "And if you get the chance, you can even call the cab. Now, another!" she slid her empty shot glass down to Don sighed and filled the glass, then slid it back to her.

"That's the last one then I am calling you a cab home." Don stated. Pierce lifted her glass in salute.

"Here's to the death of dreams. And to General MacMillan- may he go fuck himself in hell." With that, she slammed the drink back. Dimly she was aware of two men sliding onto the stools on either side of her.

"Here, here!" The first man said.

"Couldn't of said it better myself." Replied the second.

Pierce looked up to her left, where she saw Colonel Mitchell sitting, looking at her with a smile. Slowly she turned her head and saw Colonel Sheppard, who motioned the bartender for a beer.

"Well….you're not the usual MP's." she said after a few moments.

"Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in?" Sheppard asked, taking a swig on his beer. Pierce gave him a withering look.

"You are the freaking last person who should be lecturing my about anything to do with respecting the chain of command" she said pointedly.

"All right, I'll give it a shot." Mitchell put in. "You cussed out a superior officer in front of most of the base."

"Yeah, and then I quit. So?"

"Damn it, Hawkeye! Why are you doing this?" Mitchell asked. "You were one of the best pilots in the squad…"

"And now I can't fly shit!" Pierce exclaimed. "You know what its like to be a grounded pilot! You know how it feels to think that you may never fly again! That's not just a feeling for me, Shaft; that's a reality! And MacMillan rubs my face in it by sending me to teach flying at the academy! I sit behind a desk and teach out of a book…"

"MacMillan's an asshole, everybody knows that!" Sheppard exclaimed. "The problem is that he happens to have friends in high places." He paused and grinned. "But now, so do you."

"Huh?"

"You saved a lot of lives up there, Pierce…" Sheppard started only to have Pierce scoff at him.

"I had a good crew."

"A crew is only as good as their commander." Mitchell pointed out. "Almost everybody in the briefing room agreed with that assessment, excluding MacMillan; but including General O'Neill" he added at her surprised look. "Yeah he's been reactivated. Of course, there was some special dispensation to allow for his relationship with Colonel Carter."

"Didn't know that was possible" Pierce mused with a slight smirk.

"It is when you're friends with the President." Mitchell replied.

"Another interesting fact is that my boss is also friends with the President." Sheppard put in, sliding an envelope across the bar to the Major. She looked at it in distaste.

"Orders? Did you miss the part where I quit?"

"Just look at them" Mitchell replied. "If you like what they say, then you report for duty Monday, no strings, or brig, attached. You don't like it you get your dishonorable discharge."

"You got nothing to loose." Sheppard pointed out, taking a swig from his beer.

Pierce looked back and forth between the two for a few moments then sighed. She picked up the envelope and looked it over, flipping it to the back to look at the seal. She paused as she got a good look at it.

"This isn't the Air Force seal." She said archly. Sheppard shook his head.

"These orders don't come from the Air Fore command" he said, "They come directly from the President." At her look he smiled, "Told you my boss was a friend of his."

Tentatively she opened the envelope and pulled out the letter. The first thing she checked was the signature- President Hayes. The next thing she checked was the orders.

"XO of the Titan?" she said incredulously. "You can't be serious."

"You know the ship, you know the crew." Mitchell pointed out. "The mission that we are about to embark upon could be the most important since the Atlantis expedition. Hell, the mission could end up saving Atlantis! So we need every ship operating at its peak, and that means you on the Titan." He shrugged. "It's not a command, but it's the next best thing. The question is, are you up for the challenge?"

"But what about Captain Chu?" she asked suddenly. "I know what being appointed XO of the Titan meant to both her and the Chinese, I won't take that away…"

"Chu has been reassigned to the Prometheus." Mitchell stated, "As the flagship, it's a much more prominent role, so the Chinese are happy. And she'll be working with O'Neill, who chose it as his ship, so she's happy." He looked at his old wing mate. "So, what does it take to make you happy?"

The two officers finished up their beers and left, leaving Elizabeth with nothing but her thoughts.

* * *

The Titan was repaired and returned to its dry dock by the end of the weekend, making room for the Korlev in the Asgard's portable shipyard. The scene on the Titan was the usual controlled chaos of crewmembers bustling around, running status checks on systems and familiarizing themselves with the new equipment that the Asgard had installed on board. Colonel Carter sat on the bridge of the ship looking over a report that Ramsey had handed her when a familiar figure stopped in front of her. She looked up from the report to see Elizabeth Pierce saluting.

"Major Elizabeth Pierce, reporting as ordered Sir."

Slowly, Carter stood and returned the salute. "At ease," she ordered, and Pierce put her hands behind her back. Sam eyed her for a few moments before she spoke.

"I know why you did what you did. I know that MacMillan's been messing with you and your career. And I know that if he hadn't pushed you that last inch, you never would have exploded like that. You're a good officer, Elizabeth. This crew respects you, and so do I. _I_ wanted you on this ship, so here's the deal: You ARE the XO of this ship. You do your duty, you help me understand this ship, this crew, and you help us complete our mission. And if you ever, _ever_, step out of line with me like you did before, I will snap you back so hard you'll think you're a first year cadet. Do you understand, Major?" said Carter with cold seriousness

"Yes, Ma'am"

"You're the XO of this ship, but you'll also be handling navigation, just like Chu. The console has changed a bit; you may want to familiarize yourselves with them; dismissed major."

Pierce saluted again, then moved to the navigation console and sat down behind it. She stared at the redesigned board for a few moments before her hands started to instinctively move over the controls.

"_Sublights…Hyperdrive…autopilot…all looks similar,"_ she thought to herself. "_Wonder what this baby can do now…"_ she looked over to see Ramsey looking at her with a grin.

"What?"

"If I had known that all it took to get appointed XO of this ship was cursing out a superior officer, I would have done it years ago."

"Shut up, Ramsey." Pierce shot back lightly before turning her attention to the board once more.

* * *

It took a little over two weeks for the Asgard to finish repairing and upgrading the human fleet. General Hammond spent the time repopulating the fleet and selecting personnel that would be assigned to Avalon, should it be found. Once that was done, it was up to the SGC and the individual ships commanders to find a place for all of the new personnel and equipment in the fleet. Three weeks after the defeat of the Wraith Hives the combined Earth, Asgard and Jaffa fleet assembled in orbit around Earth in final preparation of making the trip to their first stop, Atlantis.

"I can't believe I'm actually going to finally be going." An excited Daniel Jackson said, nearly bouncing on the balls of his feet on the Titan's bridge. Through an unspoken agreement the members of SG-1 had decided to travel with Colonel Carter on her first command.

Mitchell snorted. "My grandma always used to say 'don't count your chickens before they've hatched.'."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, Dr. Jackson; that you should celebrate after you set foot on the city."

"Indeed." Teal'c added. "There are many ways for our arrival to be delayed or impeded."

"With all due respect, sirs, I'm never late on my runs." Pierce said from her position at navigation. "All boards are green, Colonel. We are ready for departure."

"Very well Major," she turned to Cassie, who was manning communications. "Cadet, signal the flagship that we are ready to depart."

"Yes, sir" Cassie replied. "Prometheus, Titan. We are ready to depart…"

"Sir, all ships have reported in." Lieutenant Tembers reported from his place at the communications board on the Prometheus. The flagship of the fleet had been through a lot over the years, defending the planet from the Goa'uld, running rescue and escort missions, and expanding Earth's military influence into the deep reaches of space.

Three years later, despite the technology upgrades afforded to it by the Asgard, the BC-303 was an obsolete ship. But it was Earth's first ship, and thus held a special place in the hearts of several high-ranking officers.

One of which decided, if they were going to pull him out of retirement, he was going to choose it for his flagship.

Major General Jack O'Neill stood at ease behind the command chair where Colonel Pendergast sat. He was content to stand back and let the man run his ship- he had enough of the bureaucracy of command in Washington.

"General O'Neill, all ships reporting ready. Would you like to say anything?"

Jack looked at the man blankly for a moment. "Huh?"

"Well, we're about to embark upon the most important mission in the history of the fleet, probably" the Colonel explained. "I thought you might want to say something. You know to inspire the troops."

"Right" O'Neill replied. "Open a channel to the fleet."

"Channel open, sir."

The speakers flared to life on the Titan as Jack O'Neill's voice sounded out.

"Attention fleet, this is General O'Neill" he started. "Colonel Pendergast has remarked that I should say something deep and inspiring on the eve of this historic mission…"

There were a few moments of silence; Carter couldn't help but smile.

_Some things never change…_she thought.

"Yeah, I got nothing."

_Something's really never change…_

"Anyways, I think that the most appropriate thing I could say right now would be the Sheppard's prayer Alan Sheppard's prayer that is: Dear lord, please don't let us fuck up."

Pierce let out a snort of laughter, and even Ramsey was having a hard time maintaining decorum.

"Well, that's about it. Set your courses for Atlantis; let's go find another city the Ancient's managed to loose; Prometheus out."

"Yup, I'm inspired." Mitchell quipped. Teal'c merely raised his eyebrow.

"Indeed."

"Alright then; Major, take us to Atlantis." Carter ordered, sitting back in the command chair.

"Yes, Ma'am" Pierce replied, moving the Titan out of orbit. Taking point in front of the other ships the Titan surged forward, activating its hyperdrive. In a flash it was gone, followed by the remaining Earth, Asgard, and Jaffa ships as the fleet headed to Atlantis.

And hopefully, if everything went as planned, to Avalon.


	5. Chapter 5: An Ancient in Atlantis

**Chapter 5**

**An Ancient in Atlantis**

* * *

"On course for Atlantis" Pierce announced. "ETA in a little over a week, thanks to the new engines."

"Very good, Major" Colonel Carter said from the command chair. "How's she handling."

"I miss my fighter, sir" Pierce replied. "Other than that, she's handling just fine."

Carter chuckled at that. "I know what you mean." She taped a code into her chairs command panel and opened a subspace com channel. "_Prometheus_, this is the _Titan_. Do you read?"

"Loud and clear, _Titan_" the recognizable voice of Jack O'Neill replied. "And might I say that your voice is just as lovely as I remember the rest of you being… though, I won't be able to partake in that for over a week, being stuck over here…"

Despite years of training, a blush still managed to creep into Carter's face. "Uh, Jack…" she said quietly, "I'm on the bridge; the fully manned bridge."

"And I'm a General" Jack replied glibly. "What are they going to do? Cut me off at the knees?" There was a brief pause then he spoke again, "Uh… no offence, Major Pierce."

"None taken, sir. At least I've always liked you."

"Thanks."

"Sir, I just wanted to report we are under way and will be at Atlantis in about nine days."

"Very good; see you there, _Titan_. O'Neill out."

* * *

The next week passed under the tedium of shipboard life as the crew carried out their assigned duties in preparation of their arrival at the Lost City of the Ancients. Pierce used the time to mostly make sure the ship was running smoothly, though she did find time to catch up with Mitchell. She hadn't seen him since the Battle over Antarctica, and they both had a lot to catch up on. It was a bit odd, though, that she had to call one of her oldest friends 'Sir' now.

The rest of SG-1 was in a bit of a flux. While Cam spent time with Pierce, Carter spent her time getting to know her crew and her ship. She had helped to design it, but there had been many changes she had never even heard of since her involvement ended. Dr. Jackson spent most of the time either locked in the tiny office he had set up for himself in the ships second (and last) stateroom- a room normally reserved for the XO, but which had been happily given up for the chance to bunk with the rest of the crew. Daniel was pouring over translations from the planet they had found the clues to Avalon on, as well as looking over summaries of what had been pulled out of the Atlantis database so far. He knew the information was there, but the fact that Dr. Weir had searched the database for clues to other cities in their search for ZPM's and come up empty was a bit disheartening. As for Teal'c, he spent his time on the Jaffa ship _Pride of Chulak_ with Bra'tac, catching up with his former master and getting to know his fellow Jaffa.

On the ninth day of their journey, Colonel Carter walked onto the bridge to find Daniel and Cameron already there, flanking the Navigation and Operations consoles.

"You two are up early" she said, taking her seat in the big chair. Daniel was grinning like a kid on Christmas.

"Are you kidding? I've been trying to get here for two years" he said. Cameron was noticeably less happy.

"And you, Mitchell?"

"He makes it to Atlantis, I'm out two hundred bucks" he said simply. Sam snorted back a laugh as Daniel looked indignant.

"You bet on me making it to Atlantis?"

"Well... with General O'Neill in charge, I thought it was a safe bet!"

"So did I" Ramsey muttered softly, but Daniel had hear him and sighed in frustration.

"Okay, raise your hands- how many people bet on me making it to Atlantis?" he asked, and shook his head in indignation as nearly three-quarters of the bridge crew raised their hands.

"Everybody feel free to pay me before you disembark." Carter said, then noticing Daniel's stare she grinned. "Are you kidding? I'm dating the guys who cut the orders. This was easy money for me!"

"Isn't that cheating, sir?" Ramsey asked.

"Cheat to win, Captain" Carter replied.

"Incoming transmission from Atlantis, Colonel." Lt. Denning said from the com board. "We're being directed to land on the west pier. Atlantis is also requesting a private channel."

"Open one, and put it on VOX."

"_Colonel Carter, let me be the first to welcome you to Atlantis."_ A familiar voice said over the bridge's speakers. Carter smiled.

"Thank you, Dr. Weir. We should be getting our first glimpse of your fair city in a few moments."

"_Is Dr. Jackson there?" _she asked.

"Yes Elizabeth, I'm right here." Daniel replied. "How much did you loose?"

Dr. Weir's laughter was evident over the line._ "I didn't loose anything, but a few of my people here are out some money."_

"Well, thank you for your faith in me, Elizabeth."

"_In fact, I'm pretty sure I made a few hundred bucks_." She laughed again as she heard Daniel's groan over the line.

And at that moment, the _Titan_ broke through the clouds over the ocean, and the bridge crew got their first look at Atlantis. Pierce let out an appreciative whistle at the site of the city- the six arms radiating out of the central hub, the massive skyscraping towers, the vast open areas of water between the spokes…

"My, that is impressive" Dr. Jackson remarked.

"_I look forward to showing you more, Dr. Jackson." _Dr. Weir said warmly._ "Set down at the west pier; I'll have someone show you to the control room. Oh, and if it's possible, please bring Major Pierce" _she added._ "I owe her my thanks in person."_

"She'll be there, Doctor. We'll see you in a few minutes. _Titan_ out."

* * *

The _Prometheus_ broke through the cloud cover and gracefully swept towards the Lantean city, setting down gently in the northern pier. Water steamed and hissed as the massive engines rapidly cooled in the cold water as the ship settled into its new berth, while inside the city four people disembarked.

"Honey, I'm home!" John said as Elizabeth walked down the hall towards them. Weir smile and gave Sheppard a brief hug, followed by one to Ronan and McKay.

"Welcome back, all of you." She said before turning to O'Neill. "General O'Neill, welcome to Atlantis." Dr. Weir said, shaking his hand.

"It's nice to be here, Elizabeth." Jack replied, "Though I think we should head to the control center so Danny doesn't have too much time to drool on the furniture."

The four headed down the hall towards the center of the massive city. "Ronan, Teyla asked me to inform you that if you want to work off any rust, she'd be available in the training room."

"Good. I'm feeling a bit stiff." The massive alien replied, peeling off from the group to head for the training room.

"And Rodney, Dr. Zelenka has been having some difficulties in repairing the _Orion_…"

"And once again he needs my extraordinary intelligence to bail him out and save the day. I'll see what I can do" said the egotistical scientist smugly.

"I've missed you around here, Rodney." Elizabeth said wryly.

"You can have him." Jack replied "So what have you got for us?"

"We've prepared the hologram room and we've been searching through the database for any information on the other Ancient cities, but so far we've met with no success."

"Hopefully Danny will have some ideas on how to find the information we need." Jack said as they entered the control center of Atlantis to find the other commanders present, along with SG-1 and Major Pierce while Weir smiled warmly at the group.

"Welcome to Atlantis, all of you." She said, shaking Bra'tac's hand. "Master Bra'tac, it's good to see you again."

"You as well, Dr. Weir." The elderly Jaffa replied as she turned and looked down to Thor.

"And Commander Thor, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. I've been made aware of your pledge to assist in the defense of this city, and on behalf of everyone here I offer you our thanks."

"It is our pleasure, Dr. Weir." Thor replied, nodding in response. We're turned to the next person in line.

"And you must be Maj. Pierce." She said, extending a hand. "I wanted to personally thank you for your efforts in returning my people."

"It was my team that did most of the work." Pierce replied. "But on behalf of my- of _the _crew, I accept your thanks. And I believe I owe you thanks as well. For my career."

"It was the least I could do." Elizabeth replied.

"Yeah. My life alone was worth that." Rodney interjected, grabbing the Tablet PC out of Zalenka's hands and stared at the screen. "What's the problem with the _Orion_?" The two scientists moved up to the main command center, leaving the rest behind. Piece just shook her head.

"Thank god he wasn't on my ship. Hailey's bad enough on her own." She muttered. Weir just chuckled.

"He's a bit of a handful, but he does a good job. Dr. Jackson," she turned to the archeologist, "We have everything set up in the hologram room. Shall we?"

As the group moved off, Sheppard looked to Pierce.

"So, you want a tour?"

* * *

"We rarely use this room since it's such a power hog and we can access most of the database from any of the terminals in the control center. But if we're looking for a map, this will be the best way to view it."

Weir stepped up to the pedestal and activated the console. In a flash a woman in white appeared in front of them.

"Hello," the avatar said. "You may enter your query verbally, or by entering them manually on the keypad before you."

Weir tapped a key on the console, freezing the avatar. "I should warn you. I've been running searches since you told us the location of Avalon would be in the database, but so far I've found nothing. Maybe you'll have better luck, Dr. Jackson."

Weir stepped down, allowing Daniel to step up to the podium. He tapped the control and the avatar came back to life. "Hello, I'm searching for any references to the Alterian or Lantean city of Avalon, or any of the other Alterian cities that left Earth during the exodus. Specifically I'm looking for the locations of where those cities fled to."

"I'm sorry, but that information is restricted to authorized users only." The Avatar replied. Daniel frowned and stepped down deactivating the program.

"Well, that's odd…" Weir stated. "I didn't get that message when I asked. It just told me no relevant information was available."

"Perhaps you should ask for any non-relevant information then." Bra'tac suggested, before turning to Thor. "Or perhaps our Asgard friend have a way of getting around the Ancient security on the cities' computers."

Thor shook his small head. "I'm afraid not." He said. "What little we know of Ancient technology is far beyond even our understanding. It would take us several years of dedicated study to unravel the mysteries of Atlantis' database. However," he added, "the fact that it told Dr. Jackson that the information was restricted, while it told Dr. Weir nothing, suggests to me that the information we seek may only be accessed by those with the Ancient gene."

"But I took the gene therapy. I have the gene." Weir protested.

"Perhaps it can tell between artificially induced genes, and the genes Dr. Jackson acquired by ascending."

"If that's the case, then we need someone with the gene to ask the question." Daniel said, turning to O'Neill. "Jack, I think you just volunteered."

O'Neill sighed then reluctantly stepped up to the podium. The woman flashed into existence again.

"Hello."

"Hi." He replied. "Um…same question Danny just asked you."

"I'm sorry, but that information is restricted to authorized users only" the Avatar replied.

"Come on, give me something. An address? Approximate location? Zip code?"

"I'm sorry, but that information is restricted to authorized users only" the Avatar replied once more. Jack just shrugged and stepped down.

"Well, I've got nothing" he said. "Maybe we should get Sheppard in here, have him try it out?"

"Pierce, too" Carter added. "They seem to have the most instinctual control of Ancient technology here."

"I'll go get them" Mitchell said.

* * *

"And this is control central" Sheppard was saying leading Pierce up the stairs into the main control area. "From here, we control all of the cities main systems."

Elizabeth looked around in wonder, taking in the sight of all of the advanced equipment that surrounded her. Crews manned several of the stations, most with laptops set up on top of them to interface with the Lantean systems. Several display screens showed the status of the city, and in the back one of the cities screens showed a schematic of the _Orion_, the latest (and possibly last) Lantean warship that the Atlantis expedition had found. The image was slightly blurred and marred by liens of code that flashed continuously across the screen.

"Nice place you got here." She remarked, rubbing her temple. She had felt the headache forming form the moment she entered the city, and it had grown steadily worse. Sheppard noticed and put a concerned hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, are you alright?" he asked. Pierce smiled.

"Yes, sir. Just a headache. Been a while since something other than my knee hurt," she added jokingly. "But I'll be fine."

"If you need to see Dr. Beckett…"

"I'm fine, Colonel. And I'd rather stay out of any medical facilities."

The two walked around the control center, Pierce doing her best to push the headache away. Neither noticed the various Lantean screens flickering as they passed. Soon the came up to McKay and Zelenka as hey argued around the schematic of the _Orion_.

"I'm telling you, I've tried everything! But nothing we have can repair the _Orion_ to full operational status!"

"Well, we've got to have something here! We need shields and weapons, not one or the other!"

"What's going on, guys?" Sheppard asked.

"We're run into problems repairing the _Orion_." Zelenka explained. "We're missing several key components that we can't fabricate or duplicate here. As it stands, we have limited engines, limited shields, and the weapons will only work if the shield power is diverted and vise versa."

"Well, that doesn't do us much good against the Wraith" Sheppard pointed out.

"No kidding" McKay retorted.

Pierce studied the schematics, looking at the layout of the Ancient ship. It didn't look like anything the Ancients would have built- no intricate designs or graceful curves or spires, it was a box. Long and rectangular, four wings sprouted outward at 45 degree angles near the aft of the ship, just forward of the engines. "Sounds like a power problem," she commented, watching as the schematic cycled through several views on the screen. "Have you tried hooking up naquadah generators to the weapon's system?"

"Even if that would work, we've already established our most advanced naquadah generators wouldn't be able to adequately power the drone launchers" Zelenka explained. "The power generators on the _Orion_ don't produce the power of a ZPM, but they do produce significantly more power than any of our generators could supply."

"And that's one of the things that are damaged, right?" McKay asked which got a nod in return.

"Well, what about spare parts?" Piece asked. To everyone's surprise the screen flashed and the schematic changed to one of the city itself. The picture zoomed into the southwest spoke of the city, focusing in on several large rooms near the bottom of the city. "Did I do that?"

"I should have warned you." Sheppard said absently, looking at the picture on the monitor. "Since you have the gene, the stuff in here will respond to you. Have we sent people to these rooms yet?" he asked Zelenka, who shook his head.

"Not yet." He replied. "And I don't remember that thing responding that well to you, Colonel."

Sheppard eyed the Major for a moment before turning back to McKay and Zelenka. "Anyway, why don't you get a team together and get down there. It might be nothing, but then again it might have something we need." He looked back to Pierce. "You okay Major?"

"Yeah, fine" she said absently, staring at the cleared screen. "Headache's even a bit better."

"Hey kids," Mitchell said, coming up behind them. "Sheppard, nice place you got here."

"We just painted" He replied amicably. Mitchell snorted.

"Nice. We need you and Pierce in the Hologram room."

The three parted from the two scientists and headed down the stair to the control room. Mitchell looked over to his former wingman and noticed her wincing in pain as she made her way down.

"How's the knee?" he asked. Pierce smiled sadly.

"The knee's fine, it's my head that's killing me."

The three entered the hologram room, and Sheppard and Pierce snapped to attention, saluting the General.

"Reporting as ordered, sir." Sheppard said, falling into an at ease stance at the General's gesture. "What can we do for you?"

"I need you to ask the do-hickey where the cities are." Jack said, gesturing towards the pedestal.

"Huh?"

"We think that it will only give the information we need to someone with the Ancient gene, and you two are the best candidates" Daniel explained.

Sheppard shrugged and stepped up to the podium, activating the hologram.

"Hello," the Avatar said. "You may enter your query verbally, or by entering them manually on the keypad before you."

"Yeah… I'm looking for an Ancient…er, Alterian city named Avalon. You wouldn't happen to know where it is would ya?"

"I'm sorry, but that information is restricted to authorized users only" the Avatar replied once more. Sheppard sighed and stepped down, then looked to Pierce.

"Your turn, I guess."

Elizabeth's eyes had a faraway look in them as she stepped up to the podium. She held her hand over the activation for a few moments, seemingly in a trance. Mitchell looked at her with concern.

"Hawkeye, you alright?" he asked, moving towards her. Before he could reach her, Pierces' hand slammed down on the button and the woman appeared once more.

"Hello—"

"Show them" Elizabeth said in a cold trance like voice, and in an instant, the room exploded.

When Mitchell's eye's cleared, he stared at wonder at the view of a frigid Earth. From his perspective he was a giant, standing miles above the frozen tundra that both Jack and Sheppard recognized immediately.

"Antarctica!" Jack exclaimed. Sheppard was staring at something else entirely, a very recognizable speck on the distant ground.

"Atlantis!"

"Many millions of years ago," the holographic woman started, "The great Alterian civilization was brought to its knees by a horrendous plague. That, coupled with the planet's radical temperature shift, forced the survivors to flee the planet. The decision was made to send our great cities to the far edges of the universe, to seed new life in new, distant galaxies." They all watched as Atlantis lifted off from the frozen tundra, its shield's flaring as it pushed up out of the atmosphere. The angle of the hologram changed so that Mitchell was now standing in space over Earth as thirteen shapes blasted out of Earths atmosphere into the surrounding space. "The thirteen cities of our civilization fled Earth." The hologram continued. "Three of these cities- Atlantis, Avalon, and Triton, made their way to the Pegasus galaxy. While Triton set down on a planet near the center of the galaxy, Atlantis and Avalon set down on the planet Lantea." Mitchell once again looked down on the smooth ocean surface of Lantea, watching as Atlantis and Avalon sat down on the surface. Avalon looked very much like its sister city, though the entire southern section of the city was encased in a giant dome that presumably held the ship-building facilities. "Atlantis was the capitol of our civilization, the center of the political leadership of our people; Avalon was her sister city, where we stored our vast amounts of knowledge in our archives, where we mass produced our ships, and where we supplied power to our cities."

"For thousands of years we prospered in this galaxy, until the Wraith arrived. Triton was the first to fall when the Wraith launched a surprise attack on them. After that, it was only a matter of time until they arrived at Lantea and attacked us. We stayed in a heightened state of alert, but knew that we could not keep our two last cities in this galaxy in such a close proximity to each other. The decision was made to move Avalon to a more secure location."

Mitchell watched as Atlantis' sister city lift off once more then the holographic images faded, leaving only Mitchell, the rest of the group and the holographic avatar behind. Above them a map of the Pegasus galaxy appeared, showing the location of Lantea and the rest of the colonized planets. A bright dot moved from Lantea, across the galaxy to a large, open area on the outer arm of the galaxy, holding several hundred planetary bodies, though only a few showed the capability of supporting human life. The bright dot stopped over a medium-sized planet, mostly obscured by a blue haze. "Avalon made its new home on the far edge of the galaxy, far outside the Wraith's sphere of influence. To further ensure her safety the city's crew chose a planet that was hidden in a nebula, whose interference was shown to disrupt Wraith sensor technology that had been acquired. There they made their home, and remained there for several centuries. After that, they returned to Earth, rejoining their fellow Lantean's."

The map faded, leaving a stunned group staring at Pierce and the hologram.

"Well… that was informative." Jack said after a few minutes. Daniel's eyes were narrowed, starring intently at the hologram.

"A little too informative" he said before turning to Pierce. "Major, how did you get her to tell us that?"

Pierce seemed to come out of her daze and looked to Daniel. "I…I don't know, sir" she grinned weakly. "I seem to have a knack for working this stuff."

"No, this is more than that" Daniel responded, moving to stand in front of the hologram. "You refused to tell us anything, yet you told the entire story of the Ancient's exodus at her command. You even told us things you couldn't possibly know. Why?"

"Uh, Dr. Jackson- it's a hologram" Dr. Weir said in confusion. "It's part of the cities' programs. I'm not sure what you want her to say, but—"

"I want her to tell the truth" Jackson interrupted, never taking his eyes off of the woman. "You're no hologram, are you? You're one of them. There's no use denying it!"

To the astonishment of everyone, the hologram turned and looked directly at Daniel. "You always were far too clever for your own good, Doctor Jackson."

Daniel smiled in victory as Jack voiced the thought of everyone else present.

"What the hell?!"

"You're an Ancient. An ascended Ancient and you retook human form- why? Why would you tell us now? Why would you only tell us when Major Pierce asked about Avalon?"

"Because Avalon is her birthright" the woman responded simply, looking to Pierce. "You need only to look through the personnel records of this city to see why." She turned back to Daniel. "You have your information Dr. Jackson. I suggest you act on it" and with that, the woman changed into the familiar energy form of an ascended being and floated up through the ceiling. Daniel was about to say something when suddenly the holographic projector turned on again, and figures started flickering into existence, one after another faster than the human eye could follow.

"What did you touch?" Jack demanded of Pierce, who had backed away from the podium.

"Nothing!" she shouted, a frantic edge in her voice. Daniel took one look at her and saw that she was on the verge of a full-blown panic attack.

"Major, I need you to calm down." He said, slowly moving towards her. "Just breath, Major. In and out—"

The hologram suddenly stabilized, drawing a strangled gasp from the stricken Major. Floating in front of her was a very familiar woman baring the same long brown hair and cool grey eyes as she did.

"Mom?" was the last thing Major Pierce said before finally, mercifully, passing out.

* * *

**TBC**

**Next Chapter the fleet moves out and finds a ghost ship- and the chapter after that, the fleet arrives at Avalon. **


	6. Chapter 6: The Ghost Ship

**Chapter 6**

**The Ghost Ship**

Colonel Cameron Mitchell stood alone in the hologram room, staring intently upon the floating form before him. He had seen her several times before-whenever Hawkeye had the squadron over at her apartment on base, to be exact- the stately-looking woman, standing next to the handsome man, with the little girl in front between them- their little girl, Elizabeth Pierce.

"It's a dead-on match." Mitchell said to the person who had just joined him. Dr. Jackson nodded. "Who knew my wing mate was an Ancient?"

"Half-Ancient." Jackson corrected. "Think Anubis, only less malevolent and a whole lot better looking."

"Is it even possible?"

"Did you ever see pictures of Anubis? I mean, he was bad looking with the mask, but without it..."

"I meant Pierce, Daniel." Mitchell interrupted.

"Err...well, yes. Unusual, to say the least, but it is possible." Daniel replied, circling the hologram. "Ancient's have been known to re-take human form. We now know that Merlin was an Ancient, for instance. And the Atlantis expedition has run into them on occasion. But I think Pierce may be something-"

"Some**ONE**." Mitchell interjected.

"Someone," Daniel corrected, "unique. Do you know about her parents? Her file says they were deceased."

"Yeah, they died when she was fifteen. Car crash, if I remember what she told me correctly. They lost control of the car and went over a bridge near their house into a river. The bodies were never found."

"What did they do?"

"Both taught- her father was a literary professor, her mother…" Mitchell shook his head and laughed quietly. "Her mother taught history. Makes sense, doesn't it?"

"Not a bad way to skirt around the rules, actually." Daniel responded. "She couldn't directly interfere, but that didn't mean she couldn't teach wheat she knew to others in a round-about fashion."

"What's going to happen to Pierce?" Cameron asked his teammate, taking his eyes off of the hologram to look at the doctor.

"Dr. Beckett is giving her a full physical as we speak, and running every instrument and piece of equipment he has to make sure she's all right. Once he's done, she'll be returned to duty."

* * *

Elizabeth Pierce looked at herself in the mirror by her bed in the hospital ward of Atlantis and sighed. Only a few weeks ago, the prospect of going back to the _Titan_ would have invigorated her. Now, she faced the coming return with a sense of dread.

_So my mother was an Ancient, _she thought. _I bet the rumor mill is going to run wild…_

"Major."

Elizabeth stiffened to attention as Mitchell walked into the room. "Sir." She said, saluting. Cameron returned the salute and indicated that she should stand at ease.

"I thought you'd be back on the _Titan_ by now, Liz. What's up?"

"Permission to speak freely, sir?" she asked. When he nodded his accent, she glared at him. "Back on the _Titan_? Where the hell have you been? I'm a freak! I'm waiting for the MP's to come take me to Becketts' lab or something for study,"

"You're not a freak, Liz." Cameron assured her. "So you mother was an Ancient, so what? Jackson ascended- that kind of makes him an Ancient. And let's not get started on General O'Neill…"

"Shaft, it's not the same…"

"It's exactly the same! Look, I'll make this simple for you. You are a Major in the United State's Air Force, and second in command on its newest ship of the line. So either you act like it, or I'll have Dr. Weir dial Earth and you can go back to that dishonorable discharge you were working so hard for." Cameron stared evenly back at the glaring woman. "So, what's it going to be, Liz?"

* * *

The moment after the figure walked onto the bridge of the _Titan_, there was dead silence as everybody turned to stare.

Major Elizabeth Pierce stared back at each and every member of the bridge crew. After a moment, she spoke.

"So my mother is an Ancient. But as I was recently reminded, I'm also the XO on this ship. So everybody get their stares in now, because if by the time I finish this little speech you aren't doing your jobs and prepping this ship for take-off, I will start chucking each and every one of you worthless slackers out the air lock. Back to work!"

The normal bustle of the bridge returned and Pierce made her way down to the Helm and sat down behind the console. She began pulling up navigational information on her screen and reviewing the course General O'Neill had assigned the fleet when she felt a pair of eyes on her. Annoyed, she turned to see Captain Ramsey grinning at her.

"Problem, Captain?"

Ramsey shook his head. "No, ma'am. Just basking in the glow of your incredibly motivating speech…"

Pierce snorted. "Get back to work, Doug."

"Yes, ma'am."

* * *

_The problem with space travel,_ Jack O'Neill mused, _was that no matter how fast you could go, it still took time to get there._

_Of course, between the Asgard and Carter, I'm sure we could find a way around that._

It was three days since the fleet had departed from Atlantis, and it would be another two days until they reached their destination. He knew that Daniel didn't mind the wait- it gave him time to analyze all of the data he had collected from his berth on _Titan_. The only problem Jack had was that he was stuck on _Prometheus_, away from Sam. It had taken them so long to get together, and yet they had only spent a few wonderful months together before the Asgard whisked him away.

_We'll have more time together,_ he promised himself. _After this mission, it's me and Sam till death do us part…_

"Incoming transmission, General." Captain Chu announced. "It's Colonel Carter."

"Put it through over here," O'Neill replied, moving over to a side station. After a moment, Sam's face appeared in the screen.

"Hey."

"Hey, gorgeous." Jack replied. "How's everything at the head of the class?"

"All's quiet," she responded. "This is the boring part- though Daniel is having fun with his books and tablets…"

"You know Sam, things are going to be hectic for the next few weeks." Jack said. "But I promise, as soon as I can, we're going to have some alone time together."

"You think you can swing it?"

"Well, I AM a General…" a beeping noise broke Jack's chain of thought, and he turned to Chu. "Captain, what the heck is that noise?"

"Analyzing now, sir." Chu responded. After a moment she looked up at the General. "Sir, I'm picking up an automated distress beacon, located about three light years from our current position."

Jack turned back to Sam and smiled sadly. "Well, back to work. Let's check it out."

"You got it. _Titan_ out."

Jack sighed and returned to the command chair. "Bring us out of hyperspace and hold our position about half a klick from the source of the distress call."

"Aye, sir." The helmsman responded.

The darkness of space was ripped open by the purple and white cloud of energy and matter that marked an opening into hyperspace, and one by one the fleet slipped out and began taking positions around the source of the signal. On board the _Titan_, Sam stood and moved down to the bridge window, staring at the massive ship hanging in space before them.

"What is that?" she asked quietly, mostly to herself. Pierce pulled up an image on her screen and magnified it.

"Looks like an alligator on skis." She remarked.

It was a massive ship, easily three times as big as the Daedalus. Its large central hull tapered off at the front into a snout that was lined with guns and antennas; the rear was capped off by eight large engines arranged in a circular pattern around the hull. On each side of the ship were slung two pods, one over the other, supported by three thick support struts. The exterior of the ship was dotted with gun emplacements, so many that Sam lost count.

Also dotting the hull were multiple fractures and holes marking explosive decompression, also too many to count.

"What is it?" Sam asked again. "Some kind of Ancient warship?"

All eyes inevitably turned to Pierce, who sighed in annoyance. "Just because my mom was an Ancient doesn't mean she let me take the car out for a spin. And I don't have Ancient radar, so **eye's up front!"** Much to her amusement the crew snapped back to their positions.

"Hey Sam, what's up?" Daniel asked as he came on to the bridge. Mitchell and Teal'c were right behind him. The three stopped and stared at the massive ship outside the forward viewport.

"My, that's a big ship." Cameron remarked.

"What do you think, Sam?" Jack's voice asked over the com. "Anybody alive over there? _Prometheus_' sensors aren't able to penetrate the hull."

"Neither are ours, sir." Ramsey spoke up. "I don't know what that this is made of, but it's blocking all attempts to scan the interior. The only thing I'm getting is elevated radiation readings on the hull. Kvasier," he turned to their Asgard advisor, "Can you do anything?"

"Unfortunately not." The little alien replied. "Commander Thor also reports that his vessel's sensors are not able to penetrate the armor on the vessel either."

"Major," Daniel started, leaning over Pierces should and squinting at her monitor, "Can you magnify the image here?" he pointed to the port pod of the ship. Pierce nodded and typed on her keyboard, and soon the pod was magnified 50x.

And spelled out clearly-and in English-was _Atlantia_.

"Well I'll be goddamned." The Major murmured to herself. "That ain't Ancient."

"I suppose the name _Atlantia_ could be a coincidence…but still…" Daniel turned towards the com station. "Jack, I think we should check this out."

"I concur, General." Sam added. "Personally, I want to know what this ship is made of. Anything capable of turning our sensors back like this."

"What do you propose?"

"Send in SG-1." Carter replied. "We have the new Mark Four EVA suits on board- they're lighter and thinner than the old Mark Threes that we've been using. They should allow us to navigate the wreck in relative safety. Give us about an hour and a half to poke around and see what's over there."

"With the sensor limitations, I will not be able to transport you directly into the ship." Kvasier noted. "The best I could do is to put you down just inside the port pod."

There was a beat, and then Jack made his decision.

"Do it."

* * *

The blackness of deep space was momentarily brightened by the flash of an Asgard transporter beam. The light dissipated, leaving the four current members of SG-1 standing in the opening of the port pod. Each was dressed in the SGC's version of an EVA suit- dark grey material designed to be light, yet tear resistant; light-weight helmets with large forward view plates; wrist-mounted flashlights as well as small floodlights mounted on the helmets. Each carried a small back pack that held a small tank of air.

The four looked around, each pointing their lights in a different direction, taking in the sights around them. Mitchell was the first to speak.

"_Prometheus_, we have touched down on what appears to be some sort of flight deck. It looks to run the length of the pod."

"_Mitchell, this is Sheppard."_ John's voice rang out over their headset. SG-1 looked back to see a Puddle Jumper floating out in space_. "You're going to love this- that open area on the underside of the pod? It's another flight deck- and it's upside down."_

"It's possible that the underside generates its own gravimetric field." Sam surmised. "It would mean this ship could land twice the planes in half the time."

"_Or four times the planes, unless that other pod is for take-offs." _Sheppard replied. _"I'll go take a look-see." _With that, the Jumper moved off out of their line of sight.

"Colonel Mitchell!" Teal'c cried out. "I believe I have found an access hatch."

"Let's see where it goes." Mitchell moved towards the hatch and, with Teal'c help, pried it open. "All right, people Down the rabbit hole."

The four climbed down, making their way through the narrow confines of the access tube. Once at the bottom Teal'c and Cameron pried open the door and they made their way into a large, cavernous space. Dotted around the space were two distinct types of air craft- a small, lean machine with two short, stubby wings that were swept slightly downward and a tall tail fin set around three engines. The swept-back canopy of the cockpit was set into a long, slender nose. The second ship was larger and fatter, with two engines in the rear and a large, angled canopy in front- while the first ship was obviously a fighter, this was some sort of shuttle, or scout ship.

"I guess we found their hangar deck." Daniel noted.

"I would love to get one of those babies into the air." Mitchell said to no one in particular. Switching on his mike, he signaled _Prometheus_. "General, do you still read us?"

"_Loud and clear, Colonel."_ The general's voice rang through their headsets. _"Whatever is preventing sensors and transporters from penetrating the hull is allowing audio and video signals. And I agree with you- I'd love to take one of those for a spin, too."_

"General, do you see this?" Sam asked, shining her light on a large bulkhead. "This looks like some kind of door, and judginging by the tracks laid into the floor, I'd say it's some kind of launch tube."

"_If the starboard pod is like the port, then they could launch a ton of fighters and recall them in rapid succession."_ Sheppard noted over the com_. "This would be a sweet addition to the SGC fleet… or the Atlantis fleet."_

"Atlantis has a fleet?" O'Neill asked.

"_I'm dropping hints."_

On the _Titan_, the crew was huddled around the various monitors on the bridge that were tuned into SG-1's broadcast. Lieutenant Hailey sat at the auxiliary engineering console, staring intently at the monitor in front of her. Suddenly she spotted something and activated hr com link.

"Colonel Carter, this is Lieutenant Hailey. Could you move you light back and up about fifteen degrees, just above that bulkhead?" When Carter moved her light back, Hailey smiled. "Thought so. Do you see those fractures near the edges?"

"_Yeah, I see them. Stress fractures, do you think?"_

"Definitely." Sensing Jack's imminent sarcastic queries, Sam pressed on. "Sir, when a ship reaches it's terminal velocity, the stress begins to tear it apart. Stress fractures and hull breaches begin appearing all over the ship. Judging from the damage I'm seeing here, and calculating in the residual radiation on the hull, I'd surmise that some sort of nuclear weapon impacted the ship at the exact moment they activated whatever type of hyperdrive system they had. The resulting hyperspace window would be unstable, and the ship would have accelerated beyond it's limit. It's a miracle she didn't tear herself apart."

"_Could there be survivors?"_

"It's a possibility, sir." Mitchell responded.

"_All right."_ Jack said. _"You guys got about an hour left to explore before you need to get back to the landing deck for pick up. Scout as much as you can before heading back. Check for survivors, or any clue as to what happened. Sheppard, Bring your bird back to the Titan."_

"_Copy that, General." _Sheppard replied, turning his Jumper back towards the _Titan._

"Copy that. Mitchell out." Cameron cut the connection. "Teal'c, you and me will head aft and check out engineering. Colonel Carter, you and Dr. Jackson head forward and look for the bridge. Check for logs, tapes- anything. We've got thirty minutes, and then we'll meet back here. Let's move out, people."

Fifteen minutes later Daniel and Sam found themselves walking down yet another battle-damaged corridor, it's slightly angled walls and high ceiling lit only by red emergency lights.

"The ship's structure seems mostly intact, but you can really tell the extent of the damage by just walking around here." Carter remarked. Daniel nodded.

"Are you thinking salvage?"

Carter shrugged. "We could use every ship we can get." She remarked. "If we can get this ship flying again, it would be a great addition to our fleet." He light played over a section of wall ahead of them. "Wait- what's this?" The smooth metal wall stopped, replaced instead by eight panels inset by four pieces of seemingly frosted glass each. On the second piece of glass from the top was emblazoned a strange, bird-like symbol; circling on top was written **'Battlestar Atlantia'** and circling on the bottom was **'BS-319'**.

"Well, it's on the inside of the ship, so they're probably doors." Daniel remarked, playing his light over the surface, looking for any hint of a handle or doorknob. "I don't see anyway to open it, however."

"It's probably automatic." Sam replied, then hit her com button on the wrist of her suit. "Mitchell, this is Carter. Have you reached the engine room yet?"

"_That's affirmative."_ Mitchell's voice responded. _"And it's weird."_

"How so?"

"_Well, there's a whole bunch of levers and valves and pressure gauges- all in English, and all looking like they should be on the Enterprise. And I'm talking the aircraft carrier, not the starship."_

"I'm starting to get the impression that these people are at the level of development that we would have reached in few decades if we hadn't had the Stargate." Sam replied.

"_How's that?"_

"Well, remember- our ships are an amalgamation of human, Goa'uld and Asgard technology. If we hadn't had the Stargate, then we probably wouldn't have met any of them for decades, if not centuries."

"_Never thought of that."_

"Most people in the program don't. Listen," Sam stepped back slightly from the doors, motioning for Daniel to do the same. "We've found some doors, and I'd like to see what's behind them. I think that they're automatic, though, so we need some power to open them up. Is the ships main reactor still functional, or do you see any emergency generators that will still work?"

"_Hang on a sec, and we'll look."_ A few moments passed before Mitchell got back on. _"Teal'c found the backup generators, and they look mostly intact. Give us a few minutes to see if we can get them running."_

"Copy that." Sam replied. The two stood in silence for a few minutes before Daniel spoke again.

"So, what do you think happened here? The Wraith?"

"I don't think so." Sam responded. "The weapon's impacts we saw didn't look like Wraith weapons…" She trailed off as a faint hum reverberated throughout the ship. The dim red lights brightened considerably.

"_Sam, this is Mitchell. Emergency generators are online."_

"Thanks, Ca…aaahhhhh!" Carter screamed in shock as the row of doors swung open- and several bodies floated out towards the two explorers. Daniel jumped back in shock as the body of a female officer dressed in a blue uniform floated past him.

"_Sam! Jackson!"_ Mitchell's voice sounded over their coms, _"What's going on up there? Are you okay? What's happening…"_

"It's all right, Cam." Sam responded, calming herself down. "We just found the crew."

"_Dead?"_

"Corpse-sicles." She replied, gently grabbing on to one of the floating bodies. She slowly rotated it so that the face was facing up. She looked at the face of the somewhat elderly man, with thinning grey hair and pencil thin mustache. Even in death he had the unmistakable look of authority on his blue-tinted face, and in the smart way his blue uniform was buttoned up an still smooth, unlike the half-unbuttoned and wrinkled uniforms of the rest of the crew.

"I count about twenty." Daniel remarked.

"It looks like the remaining crew gathered in here, but it wasn't designed to either hold so many people or to seal down completely if atmosphere was lost." Sam replied. "It looks like they suffocated."

"_Where were they?"_ Mitchell asked.

"The Combat Information Center." Daniel said, reading the small plaque on the wall inside the room. It was a relatively small space, dominated by a long table in the center, over which hung several monitors. One end of the room held several more monitors and a large situation screen, the other was dominated by several small stations. "Looks like their bridge. Strange place to put it, though. How do they see anything?"

"With tactical screens." Sam pointed to the hanging screens. "It's set up like a Naval vessel- and it makes sense for a ship with no shields. You don't want to risk a shot taking out your command center in the opening seconds of an engagement."

"So you bury the bridge in the middle of the ship. Clever." Daniel replied. He looked around, then moved to one of the computer terminals. "Computers are still off-line. I guess the generators don't cover them…ah." He moved off from the terminal towards the table and picked up a long, thick book. The cover merely read 'Command Log: Battlestar _Atlantia_.' Under which read 'Admiral Nagala Commanding'. Daniel held up the book for Sam to see. "Pay dirt."

"_Colonel Carter, DanielJackson,"_ Teal'c voice sounded over the com, _"We must move back to the landing pod now."_

"Roger that, Teal'c." Sam replied. "We're heading back now." She turned off the radio and looked to Daniel. "Let's get all of the bodies back in here and seal the room. I don't want them floating off down the hall."

"All right." Daniel replied, slipping the log into his satchel. "Let's get to work."

* * *

"The _Atlantia_ was the flagship of the Colonial Fleet." Daniel explained a short time later. After SG-1 had beamed back to the _Titan_, General O'Neill, on Carter's recommendation, ordered the recovery of the _Atlantia, _and the Asgard had been able to tow the massive ship into the _Samantha Carter_. The ship had been temporarily sealed and re-pressurized, and several technical crews from all three races were now on board working to salvage the ship. All of the bodies of the crew that had been found had been moved to a temporary morgue that had been set up on the _Atlantia_'s port launch bay.

Meanwhile Daniel had immediately gone to his office and sped through the log book he had recovered. After several hours of reading, Daniel was able to present a report on what he had found and contacted all of the ship commanders from the bridge of the _Titan_.

"I'm still a bit fuzzy on what exactly the Twelve Colonies were; hopefully I'll find some more historical data on the _Atlantia_." He continued. "But this ship was the flagship of the fleet, and apparently one of the most advanced that they had. Admiral Nagala was in charge of the entire fleet."

"So, what happened?" Jack asked, leaning over Colonel Pendergast's chair on the _Prometheus_.

"From what I read, the Twelve Colonies were suddenly attacked by an enemy they called the 'Cylons'. The Cylons launched a massive attack on the Twelve Colonies, while simultaneously attacking the fleet. Here's where things get interesting- Admiral Nagala writes that he received several reports of sudden and inexplicable equipment malfunction upon engagement with the enemy. He even says that several Battlestars lost power immediately upon sighting the Cylons- including several ships in his own attack fleet."

"The Cylons must have been able to access the ships computers." Hailey surmised. "That's the only explanation I can think of."

"The Admiral thought the same thing.." Daniel agreed. "Especially when the _Atlantia_ started malfunctioning. It states in his log that he ordered an immediate blind jump out of the engagement zone, but as they activated their 'FTL' drives, the ship was struck with a nuclear warhead. The resulting explosion sent the ship much farther much than it was supposed to go much faster than it was capable of. He lost half of the crew to the initial blast, then another third in the aftermath of the jump."

"It would appear that you were correct, Colonel Carter." Bra'tac remarked from the _Pride of Dakara._ "Though the question now is- if these Cylons are able to infiltrate and shut down entire starships, do we even dare continue? Do we take the risk of running into them and being decimated?"

"I don not believe that would happen, Master Bra'tac." Thor interjected from the _Daniel Jackson._ "Our computer systems are unlike any these Cylons would have ever faced, and we have the best protection devisable on all of our system. Short of them boarding out ships and taking it by force, which I don not believe would be possible with their obvious lack of shield or transporter technology, our ships should be quite safe."

"Besides, we're only about a day out from where the coordinate say Avalon is." O'Neill noted. "I say we press on."

"I agree."

"I agree."

"Then we all agree." O'Neill said. "All ships, prepare to resume course to Avalon."

**TBC…**

* * *

Don't quite like ending on that line, but there really isn't much left to finish with for this chapter. Next chapter we finally arrive at Avalon, and the chapter after that- the people from the SGC make their way into the remains of the Twelve Colonies- and our two favorite rebel officers face off.

No, not those Rebels. Different story.

Happy New Year!

A/N: Wow, I worte this back in December. And I've had it on my computer since then. Just a brief note on this stories delay- I sent these chapters to my beta, but he warned me that his life was getting sporadic. That being said, he never got the chapters back to me. Any of them. And he's since dissapeared, making it TWO beta's that have vanished without a trace for me. Consequently this chapter, and all chapters after this, are unbeta'd. So please be king on the gramatical errors untill I can get a new beta. Anybody want's a crack at this story, drop me a line- you can reach me through my Yahoo page.

-Natitch


	7. Chapter 7: Arival

**General Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters. Everything else belongs to their respective owners. **

* * *

**Chapter 7**

**Arrival**

* * *

"Colonel, our ETA at the coordinates is twenty-five minutes." Pierce announced. 

"Telemetry is coming from the _Daniel Jackson_," Kvasier reported from his station. "Thor reports that the area is blanketed by a nebula that is seriously inhibiting long-range sensors. We may not be able to scan the interior until we are on the fringes- or at all."

"Acknowledged." Carter replied, sitting back in her chair, considering her options.

Ramsey stared at the swirling blue and white vortex of hyperspace as it slipped past the forward viewport. He turned and looked over at Pierce with a questioning glance.

"So Major, what do you think we'll find? At Avalon, I mean?"

Pierce shrugged. "Dunno. Probably the same setup as Atlantis- maybe a little bit bigger to accommodate the shipyard it's supposed to have."

"I dunno," Sheppard remarked, stepping onto the bridge. "Now that I think about it, you totally flatten one of Atlantis' 'arms', and you'd have enough space to construct a decent shipyard."

Pierce tuned out the conversation and cocked her head slightly, listening to the sounds of the ship. She placed her hands palm down on the navigation console, feeling the pulse of the mighty machine-

And she felt the pulse shudder slightly.

It was a little thing, hardly noticeable. But Piece knew that little things had a way of getting real big real fast.

"Lieutenant Hailey, do you feel that?" she called out over her shoulder to the young engineer, who sat at the auxiliary engineering station at the aft of the bridge.

"Yes, ma'am." She replied., he own hand on a bulkhead. "It's the hyperdrive, I think."

Sam looked between the two, confused. "What are you two talking…" suddenly the shudder intensified. "Whoa, baby. Cadet, signal the fleet. Major, drop us out of hyperspace."

"Signaling the fleet now, Colonel." Cadet Frasier reported.

"Dropping back to real space now." Pierce replied, cutting to sublights. Almost immediately the ship slammed to a halt, sending the crew sprawling against their stations- or bulkheads, in the unlucky case of John Sheppard. Behind the smaller ship, the rest of the fleet appeared and similarly came to a sudden stop.

"Brace for impact." Pierce remarked dryly.

"Report!!" Carter barked.

"It's the nebula, Colonel." Hailey reported. "It was closer than our sensor reports thought. It was destabilizing our hyperspace corridor the closer we got. Not to worry, though. We should be able to get through just fine on sublights."

"Very well." Carter said. "Signal the fleet. Major Pierce, take us in."

The trek through the nebula took several long, tedious hours, punctuated by many 'Are we there, yet?' comments from General O'Neill over the com. A trait that Ramsey, unfortunately for Major Pierce, seemed to have picked up on.

"Are we there yet?"

"Ask me again and I'll shoot you out of the missel tube, Captain- wait." She squinted at her monitor, than back at the forward window. "I think the cloud's thinning- yes, it is. Colonel," she called over her shoulder, "The nebula is clearing up a bit, and we've almost reached the coordinates."

"Acknowledged." Carter replied. "Keep a sharp eye out."

Gradually the smaller warship edged out of the nebula into a larger area of clear space in the center. And hanging dead center in the open space was a planet.

"Looks like we found the surprise inside." Ramsey remarked.

"Sensor reading indicate a near-Earth normal atmosphere." Kavisier announced. "Though markedly colder than your own planet, especially at the poles. However there is a temperate zone in the belt around the equator, along with fresh water, plant and limited animal life."

"How about technology?" Carter asked. The Asgard shook his head.

"None detected."

Carter looked to Pierce. "I don't suppose there's another planet in here, Major?"

Pierce shook her head. "No sir. But this is the place- I know it is. I can feel it…" he trailed off, a far away look in her eyes. After a moment she turned to look at Sam. "Colonel, permission to take one of the Jumpers down to the surface."

"Why?"

"I think if I get close enough, I might be able to find the city."

Carter shook her head. "If it was here, shouldn't have we detected it by now?"

"Not necessarily." Sheppard pointed out. "Think about it- they apparently hid the city on a planet inside a nebula. What's to say they didn't take the extra step and put it under a cloak?"

"Sir, I can find it if it's down there." Pierce pleaded. "But I need to get closer."

Carter considered this for a moment before finally nodding her consent. "Fine. Prep Jumper 2- but I want you to take the rest of SG-1 and Sheppard's team with you, just in case you find it."

"I'll go get my crew together." Sheppard said, racing off the bridge.

Pierce smiled. "I'll grab SG-1 on the way to the jumper bay. Thank you, sir."

"You can thank me by finding that city." Sam replied. "Now, move out."

* * *

As the fleet took up positions at the edge of the nebula, a lone Puddle jumper emerged from the small launch bay built into the top of the _Titan_. As soon as the small vessel cleared the threshold of the atmospheric force-field, the two drive pods extended from its side and the ship accelerated towards the planet. Pierce eyed the blue-gray orb intently, searching for any sign of the city. 

She found none.

"I'm going to start at the equator of the planet, and work my way outward from there." She announced to her passengers. Colonel Sheppard was sitting in the co-pilot's seat, while Mitchell and Daniel sat behind them, with Rodney, Teal'c, Teyla and Ronan stood in the doorway of the cargo compartment. "Colonel Sheppard, keep an eye on the sensors. If the city is under a cloak, it may have degraded enough over the years to allow some sensor returns."

"Yes, sir." He responded wryly.

The Jumper flew down into the atmosphere, it's armored exterior protecting the ship from the dangers of reentry. Soon they were cruising over large swath of forest near the equator of the planet.

"Nothing so far." Sheppard announced. "Rodney, you think you can do something to boost the power to the sensors?"

"I can try- there's a couple of systems I can take away from that we don't need right now. Give me a minute." He replied, pulling out his Tablet and opening up one of the system access panels, hooking is computer up to the ships.

After an hour of searching, the team was beginning to loose hope. Elizabeth was especially vexed- she knew the city was there, but how could she find it? Not sensing an alternative, Pierce closed her eyes and relaxed, letting her instincts take over.

"Uh- Hawkeye?" Mitchell spoke up nervously, "Don't you think you should look where you're going?"

"Just…trust me, Shaft."

A few minutes later, Pierce suddenly shifted course and headed south, towards the planet's southern pole. Subtly the ship's speed increased, and it began to shudder as it set off a chain of sonic booms.

"Hawkeye!" Mitchell shouted in alarm. "Slow the hell down!"

"I'd love to, Sir," she replied, her eyes wide open now. "But I'm not in—"

Suddenly the ship seemed to pass through some kind of energy field, and the massive city of Avalon appeared before them. The hologram on Atlantis hadn't done it justice- it was easily twice as big as its sister city, though it's appearance was still very similar to Atlantis. The main difference, besides the size, was the massive dome that covered nearly the entire southern half of the city.

"Control." Pierce finished lamely, her breath nearly taken away at the sight before them. "Holy Hannah…"

"Well, the Ancients like to do everything big…" Daniel remarked.

"Where are we headed, Hawkeye?" Mitchell asked.

"Main control spire, I'd bet." She remarked absently. "I think it's an autopilot that brings in Jumpers if the cloak is engaged."

"Nifty." Sheppard remarked absently. "Wonder if Atlantis has something similar."

"Possibly." Pierce remarked absently. ""We're heading into the tower dock now. Standby…" The Jumper maneuvered smoothly through the rooftop opening into the expansive Jumper bay of Avalon. Sheppard noted with interest that it too was twice the size of Atlantis' own bay, with a dozen more Jumpers as well. Their Jumper slid effortlessly into one of the few empty slots on the lower level and automatically powered down. "We're docked" she announced needlessly. "Sensors picking up breathable atmosphere- we're good to go."

"All right people," Cam stated, checking over his weapon briefly, "Sheppard, you and your team are the experts, so you all take point."

"Right." Sheppard replied. "Let's head into the operations center and secure the city. Once we do that, we should be able to pull up schematics and diagrams of the entire complex and see what's where. Rodney, I want you to patch into communications first thing and let the General know where we are."

"Do you want me to drop the cloak?" he asked. Sheppard shook his head.

"No," he replied. "Let's keep it up for now. Weapons check?" Everyone checked that their weapons were loaded and ready. "All right, let's move out."

The eight of them made their way out of the Jumper bay to the stairs that led down into the main control room. Sheppard descended first, and was greeted by a familiar sight.

"Looks just like Atlantis." He remarked as he gazed around the darkened operations center. "Rodney, set up over at communications; contact Prometheus and let them know we are safely within the city. Then see about getting the life-signs detector working." McKay nodded and set his laptop down on the communications console, deftly plugging it into the Ancient computer and activating the interface. SG-1, meanwhile, had fanned out across the room and looked around cautiously as the lights began to turn themselves on.

"Is that normal?" Cam asked. Sheppard nodded.

"Same thing happened when we arrived on Atlantis. It's normal."

Pierce had wandered out of the operations center and down into the gate room proper. Sunlight streamed through the decorative windows positioned around the room, lighting up the massive form of the Stargate that stood at the end of the room. She moved towards the gate, looking up at the tall device and wondering how many times her mother had traveled through this very same gate- or even if she had built the thing.

"I got systems powering up all over the city," McKay stated. "I'm pulling up a schematic now…"

Mitchell looked out into the gate room and noticed Pierce standing unnaturally still. "Hawkeye, something wrong?"

Slowly Pierce turned around, a strange look in her eye. Suddenly her hand shot out in front of her-

And a previously hidden control pedestal rose from the floor. Her hand slammed down on the panel, and her world went dark as she passed out once more.

* * *

Elizabeth Pierce woke in what appeared to be a darkened infirmary. She looked around dumbly as various expedition members- both soldier and scientist alike- moved in various pieces of medical equipment, and vaguely wondered why they didn't turn on the lights. 

"We can't access the power grid." A familiar voices stated, and Pierce turned to look into the stern face of General Jack O'Neill, who was seated at her bedside. "Or anything else, for that matter. Whatever you did locked us out of all of the cities system, along with most of the city itself." He raised an eyebrow. "Mind telling me why?"

Pierce struggled over the words for a moment before she responded. "It was instinct, sir." She said. "That Ancient back on Atlantis said that this city was my birthright. When I finally got here, I just knew that it would respond to me."

"So, what did you do?" Jack enunciated. Pierce braced herself as she gave her answer.

"I've taken complete control of the city."

There was a moment of complete silence before Jack found his voice again.

"You WHAT?!"

"Sir, you may have Atlantis, but you've never had full control over all of their systems." Pierce explained. "Heck, the life sign's detector didn't even work until an Ancient bumped into it!"

"Yeah, but—"

"But nothing, sir. Look, I'm the closest thing you've got to an Ancient. And the city responds to me. And now that I have complete control, all of the cities systems will be full operational- including the power and weapons manufacturing plants you so desperately wanted.. Plus, I can do this…" Pierce slowly got out of her bed and headed over to a wall panel, which lit up at her touch. After a few moments of keying in commands, the infirmary lit up, followed by the rest of the city. Doors unsealed, computer terminals lit up, and in the operations center the control systems came back on line, much to Rodney's delight.

Back in the infirmary, Pierce turned to her commanding officer and stood at attention. "All systems fully functional sir. And I've given you full authority to access those systems, as well as add anybody you wish to the authorized list. Which I could only do by taking control of the city, sir."

Jack blinked. "And you didn't tell me all of this before because…"

Elizabeth smirked. "What, and miss your reaction?"

O'Neill shook his head. "You just keep trying for the court martial, don't you?"

"Well, if at first you don't succeed, sir," she said with a grin, "Try, try again."

* * *

Two days after the city had been unlocked, the command members of the expedition met in the main conference room off of the operations center. Two days, while not being nearly enough time to do a thorough search of the city, had been enough to discover some of its secrets, which they were only now just starting to discuss. 

"The city itself is at about seventy-six percent total power." Rodney was explaining. "The Zed PM plant is also where the city's Zed PM were hooked up, and it looks like they rigged some of their equipment to feed power back into the main Zed PM's. However it's been a few thousand years, and the equipments not working as well as it used to, hence the power drop."

"Can you fix it?" Jack asked.

"Are you kidding? Of course I can fix it!" Rodney replied with his usual aplomb. "But it's going to take a few weeks, minimum. Also, it looks like the time it takes to build a Zed PM is about a week and a half, from the records we've been able to look at. The good news is that there are six Zed PM's that the Ancients made before they left in storage."

"Good. We can send three of them to Atlantis to get her up and running again at full capacity. The other three we'll divide between our ships."

"I would suggest you concentrate on your ships for the moment, General." Bra'tac suggested. "I believe you need it more for your defenses than we need them for ours."

"I agree." Thor seconded.

"Fine." Jack conceded. "We'll take the first batch, but I want to outfit all of our ships just the same. I hear it does wonders for the hyperdrive, but as I'm not a science geek I don't really understand any more than that. Moving on- what have you got, Sheppard?"

"Mitchell and I scouted out the shipyard- it's massive. We can probably move the _Atlantia _into it to clear out the _Samantha Carter_, and there'd still be room for the 304's to land. Oh, and we found a pair of Ancient Warships."

"Jack blinked. "'Oh'? You find Ancient warships, and all they get are a 'Oh'?"

""Well, they both need some work, sir." Mitchell put in. "But the hull's are intact. I think, with the Asgard's and Jaffa's help, we can get them up and running in about a month."

"See to it. And be more enthusiastic!"

"Yes, sir. We'll try sir." Sheppard said with a subtle roll of his eyes.

"What's next?"

"The city's supply of drones is intact and whole." Rodney continued. "Right now we're transferring some up to the _Titan_. And yes, we have the equipment to make more- we just don't have any idea how to use it. Major?" he looked at Major Pierce impatiently. The Major blew out an impatient breath.

"I already told you, Doctor. I'm a pilot, not an instruction manual. Anything I do here is automatic and I have no control."

"I will have Kvasier look into the drone situation." Thor stated diplomatically. "We may need them- the cities' sensors have detected several small craft appearing and disappearing around the far side of the planet, near the habitable regions. As a precaution we've kept the cloak up and moved our ships deeper into the nebula until we can determine who, or what, they are."

"What about it, Danny?" Jack asked, turning to his friend. "You find anything in the computers here about any local life?"

"Well, yes and no." he replied. "Probably. Possibly. Though it isn't definite…"

"Danny?"

"Yes, Jack?"

"Cut to the chase."

Daniel cleared his throat. "Yes. Right, well- it goes like this. Nearly ten thousand years ago, The Ancients moved this city from Lantea to here. After a few years of settling down, they began to search for habitable worlds to seed human life- only, they found human life already here, on a planet called Kobol. There were two species of humans- highly advanced, much like the Ancient's themselves, who were very close to ascension; and more normal, 'baseline' humans, who worshiped them as gods."

"Sounds like the Goa'uld." Bra'tac growled. Teal'c nodded in agreement.

"It does sound like that, but from the Ancients records they were more benevolent gods, who let the people practice self rule rather than rule over them directly. At the time there were twelve different tribes of humans. And when some of the Ancients from Avalon showed up, they were hailed as brothers and allowed to live on Kobol with the other humans, and both groups learned from each other. They stayed like that for a few thousands years, intermingling. Eventually the descendants of the Avalonians made up their own tribe. And then, some kind of disaster struck. A plague of some kind…"

"Like the one that hit the Ancients?" Carter guessed.

"That's my guess." Daniel replied. "About five thousand years ago. The surviving Avalonians fled the planet, and stated their intentions to go to Earth. I'm assuming that, by this time, there were one or two Avalonians who had ascended and were guiding their decedents back to their home world. Now, here is the interesting thing," Daniel paused as he pulled out one of the strangely shaped books he had recovered from the _Atlantia_. "I've been studying the history of the people whose ship we've found, and after reading what I did in the Avalon archives I've discovered that they are the descendants of the twelve tribes of Kobol, who apparently fled the planet about two thousand years ago. From what I've read, they made their way deeper into space," with this he activated the screen that they had set upon far wall. A view of the Pegasus galaxy appeared, then rapidly zoomed in to the far arm of the dwarf galaxy. "As you can see, this area of space is particularly barren- only a handful of habitable planets scattered over hundreds of thousands of light years. All but here," he pointed to a small area at the very far end of the arm, "Where there are a dozen planets, all in close proximity to each other, all with breathable atmospheres. I think this is where the Twelve Colonies ended up."

"Or ended." Sheppard pointed out. "Remember, we didn't find an intact warship- we found a floating, lifeless hulk that's taking a lot to make flyable again. And from what we've pulled out of the logs, it looks like all twelve colonies were hit and hit hard. Which means our visitors might not be these colonists, but the things that took them out."

"Or they could be survivors," Carter pointed out, then turned to O'Neill. "Sir, either way we should investigate. The _Titan _could be there within nine hours…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Jack exclaimed. "And what if whatever attacked them is hanging around?"

"The _Titan _was designed to interface with a ZPM off the bat, General." Pierce noted. "With that powering the ship, we could interface a cloaking generator from one of the cities jumpers with the _Titan's _shields. We could pop in, cloak the ship, take a look around and leave quickly, if necessary. Completely unseen." She added.

"Sir, that ship we found is using technology that we can't really wrap our heads around." Carter pointed out. "It would be to our benefit to meet these people, if they still exist."

"And if they do, they're obviously in danger." Daniel noted. "Isn't it our duty to help those in need?"

"We don't go around fighting other people's wars." Jack growled?"

"How about the Goa'uld?" Jackson countered.

"Or the Wraith?" Sheppard pointed out.

"All right!" Jack exclaimed, then sighed in defeat. "How soon can you get the _Titan _ready?" he asked Carter.

"Two hours, and we can be ready to launch."

"Then you have a go. The rest of us will stay here and get the city ready for possible survivors, along with getting all of the systems up and running. Anything else?" Nobody spoke up, so Jack nodded with finality. "All right then. Let's get started."

**TBC **

**A/N: A thank you to everybody who offered to beta- once I get some new material written, I may take one of you up on that. Sorry for the lack of updates, but lifes been kicking my ass and I haven't felt like writing. Wich sucks, because I have everything planned and written in my head.**


	8. Chapter 8: Close Encounters on Caprica

**Chapter 8**

**Close Encounters on Caprica**

* * *

_The Cylons were created by man._

_They rebelled._

_They evolved._

_There are many copies…_

_And they have a PLAN._

**Previously on Battlestar Galactica**

"This is the Commander," Bill Adama's voice sounded over the ships 1MC. "Moment ago, this ship received word that a Cylon attack against our home worlds was underway. We do not know the size or the disposition or the strength of the enemy forces. But all indication point to a massive assault against Colonial defenses. Admiral Nagala has taken personal command of the fleet, aboard the Battlestar Atlantia, following the complete destruction of Picon Fleet Headquarters in the first wave of the attacks. How—why—doesn't really matter now. What does matter is that, as of this moment, we are at war."

* * *

Elosha, a Colonial priestess, unrolled the Scrolls of Kobol and stood in front of the soon to be former Secretary of Education. "If you'll raise your right hand and repeat after me... I, Laura Roslin, do now avow and affirm..." 

Laura stood across from her, her aide Billy at her side, and held her right hand up shakily as she took the oath of office. "I, Laura Roslin, do now avow and affirm..."

"That I take the office of President of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, without any moral reservation or mental evasion..." Elosha continued.

"That I take the office of President of the Twelve Colonies of the Planet Kobol, without any moral reservation or mental evasion..."

* * *

"You don't get it, do you?" Laura pointed out angrily to the stubborn Commander Adama aboard the Galactica. "The human race is about to be wiped out. We have fifty thousand people left and that's it. If we want to even survive as a species, then we need to get the hell out of here and start having babies!"

* * *

"Are they the lucky ones?" Adama asked the assembled people in the hanger of the Galactica, gesturing to the flag-draped coffins of the dead Galactica crew. "That's the question you're all asking yourselves, isn't it? 

"We're a long way from home. We've jumped far beyond the Red Line and now we're in uncharted space. Limited supplies. Limited fuel. No allies. No hope. Maybe it would've been better if we'd all died quickly back there on Kobol with the rest of our families than to die slowly out here in the emptiness of deep space.

"Where will we go? What will we do?" He looks out at the surprised faces and knows that he's struck a chord, caught them off-guard and grabbed their attention by voicing their darkest thoughts.

"Life here began out there." Those are the first words of the sacred scrolls -- the first words the Lords of Kobol gave us countless centuries ago. They tell us in explicit terms that we are not alone in the universe." He turned to the Priestess. "Elosha, there is a thirteenth colony of man, is there not?"

"Yes," she replied tentatively. "The scrolls tell us a thirteenth tribe left Kobol in the Early Days. That they traveled far away and made their home on a planet called Earth... which circled a distant and unknown star."

"It's not unknown. I know where it is!" Adama proclaimed. "The location of Earth has been one of our most guarded secrets. The location was known to only the most senior commanders in the Fleet. We dared not reveal its location to the public while the Cylon threat was still out there. And thank the Lords for that, because now we have a refuge to go to, a refuge the Cylons know nothing about!

"It won't be easy. It will be a long and probably arduous journey to get there. But I promise you one thing – we will make it and Earth will be our new home."

* * *

**"**The old man is our last chance to find Earth." Kara said with conviction. "He knows where it is, he said so, you were there. The location is a secret but he is going to take us there. 

**"**Commander Adama has no idea where Earth is." Roslin replied. "He never did, he made it up in order to give people hope."

**"**You're lying."

"Go ask him."

"I will."

* * *

**"**I believed you, believed in Earth." 

**"**What are you doing, Starbuck?"  
**_  
"_**Bringing home the cat, sir." And with a flash of light, Starbuck's Cylon Raider jumped away.  
**_  
_"**She wasn't scheduled for a jump test." Tigh exclaimed. "Where the hell did she go?"

**"**Home." Adama replied

* * *

Samuel Anders handed the Arrow of Apollo to Kara.** "**Go find earth." 

"What about you?" Starbuck asked. "You said you needed professional advice."

**  
"**We'll muddle through." Anders replied. "We've managed so far."

**  
"**They'll kill you. You'll die here. You know that."

**  
"**A lot of people died here. I tell you this. If I'm gonna die here. I'm gonna take out every last o­ne of those frakin' farms before I do."

**  
"**Well I'm not gonna leave you here."

**  
"**You said you where gonna come back remember?" Anders smiled. "I'm gonna hold you to it."

**  
"**I'm coming back." Kara said as she handed him one of her dog tags. "I said it, I meant it."

* * *

Bill Adama sat with Lee in his ready room on the Galactica. "In your opinion, off the record... what was Garner's flaw?" 

Lee considered the question for a moment before he replied.** "**He was used to working with machines. Command is about people."

"Remember that. I want you to take command... of the beast." Adama held out a flat jewelry box that held the two Commander's insignia pins. "Garner was my decision. His failure's my responsibility. Don't let me fail a second time. Congratulations, Commander"

* * *

Starbuck stood at the podium on the Pegasus in front of the combined Galactica and Pegasus Raptor crews. On the screens behind her showed various intel pictures of the Caprica landing site. "No o­ne should be under any illusions about what we're going to face here. Our final jump will take us intra-atmosphere less than two klicks above the surface. We're also expecting to take heavy fire. Simulations indicate losses of up to 20 can be expected. That's why this mission has been designated as 2-alpha by the command authority. It's volunteer only. You want out, now's the time. 

Starbuck stepped back, and Lieutenant Gaeta stepped up. **"**What many of you don't know is that the captured Cylon heavy raider is capable of much longer jumps than our raptors. In fact, we realized early o­n that if we could install a heavy raider navigational system aboard o­ne of our raptors, a strike team could make the entire trip back to Caprica in less than ten jumps. Now, the limiting factor up until now has been our inability in install the Cylon computer with our computer. That obstacle has now been overcome."

The noise level in the room jumped dramatically as Sharron was led into the room, in minimal shackles, between and armed Marine guard. Starbuck saw the hostility rising and instantly moved to quash it.

"She's here to help us. She's gonna lay out our navigational markers and update our jump coordinates. Does anyone have a problem with that?" Everyone quieted down, and Kara took a breath. "This is our mission. It's our duty to the people we left behind. And if we need to use a Cylon to get them back, then so be it. This is about trying to get as many survivors off Caprica as we can. Even so, it's still 2-alpha. Anyone want to eject?

"No o­ne has ever attempted a rescue mission from this distance, much less behind enemy lines." Apollo said to the crew "You'll be making history just by making the attempt. But bring these people back from Caprica... and you'll be making part of the future."

* * *

In space, the dozen Raptors took up position at the edge of the fleet** "**SAR team, Starbuck. Standby to jump o­n my mark. Five, four, three, two, o­ne. Commence the first jump." And with multiple, brilliant flashes of light, the SAR group jumps back towards Caprica… 

**And now the story continues…**

* * *

The darkness of space was momentarily brightened by the green and white cloud of a hyperspace window forming. A moment later the slim from of the _Titan_ appeared in the former Colonial space, and then window closed and the Earth vessel shimmered into nothingness as the cloaking generator activated. 

"Cloak is on and functioning properly." Ramsey announced from tactical. "All systems are go."

"We've arrived at the edge of the system, Colonel." Pierce reported. "I'm reading a dozen planets, a couple dozen moons.

"I'm reading several dozen targets, as well." Ramsey added. Carter nodded, then looked to Kvasir. "Kvasir, can you get me some sensor readings?"

The Asgard nodded and activated the main sensor display at the rear of the bridge, and a holographic display shone down on the aft situation table. "The Major is correct. There are twelve formerly habitable planets in the region, along with a number of moons. Preliminary scans indicate the presence of the remains of major civilizations on all planets, along with a high degree of radiation."

"Holy Hannah! Look at the size of those ships!" Cassie exclaimed, eying the massive starships in orbit around one of the planets. "They're bigger than a Ha'tak!"

"I'm guessing those are the Cylons." Pierce remarked.

"We won't be able to get any clearer reading unless we move closer in-system." The Asgard noted. Carter considered this, then nodded.

"Alright, bring us in towards their fleet, but keep us behind one of those moons," she added, pointing to what appeared to be the central planet of the system.

Major Pierce deftly maneuvered the large ship through the system towards their designated hiding spot. Within minutes they were parked behind he moon, directly out of the line of sight of any curious ships. The Asgard sensors, however, continued to collect data, gathering more detailed images of the fleet and the planets beyond them that Carter moved over to study.

"What are those ridges on the arms of those ships?" she asked Kvasir, who manipulated the hologram to zoom in- and caused the Colonel to gasp.

"They're fighters." She breathed. "Dozens and dozens of fighters!"

"I think we need a bigger boat." Pierce quipped. "Certainly more than a couple of _Jumper_s…"

"Hold on- new contacts!" Ramsey announced. "Holy crap- they just appeared intra-atmosphere!"

"How?" Carter demanded.

"Some kind of hyperdrive, I'm assuming." He replied. "I'm reading about a dozen and a half ships, all tagged with IFF frequency identifiers. I'm picking up another…" he trailed off as he tracked the source of the transmission.

"Where?"

"_Inside _the mountain." Ramsey said in a strained voice. "They appeared inside the mountain."

"Risky maneuver." Pierce commented. "There's a reason we don't jump into a planet's atmosphere."

"Kvasir, can you tell me where they are headed, or what they are doing?" Carter looked to the Asgard.

"The ships have landed in a small clearing in the forest of the northern continent." He announced. "I am also reading a large group of life forms about 5 miles away from them, but headed in their general location. If I was to guess, I would assume this is a Search and Rescue mission."

"Colonel, I'm reading a large buildup of mechanized forces, also heading their general direction." Ramsey announced. "It looks like an ambush."

"Sam, could I have a word?" Sheppard asked, coming up behind her chair. The colonel nodded and rose, heading to the back of the bridge near the holographic display. "We should seriously consider going in for a rescue here, Sam."

"And risk getting ourselves into the middle of a shooting war our first week in this sector of space?" she countered. "Look John, I don't like the idea of leaving those people down their to the slaughter. But the fact is we know nothing of what is going on here. What's to say they didn't start this whole thing?"

"Does that excuse genocide? Because that's what it looks like happened here!"

"Colonel's, if I may?" Pierce said quietly as she stepped up to the two officers, "We have two Jumpers on board, fully armed and with working cloaking generators. We could send two small teams down to the planet to pick those people up and bring them nice and quietly back on board, where we could at least start to determine exactly what has been going on here."

Carter considered her second in command for a moment before reaching her decision. "Fine. Major, take SG-1 in Jumper 2. Colonel Sheppard, take your team in Jumper 1. Bail them out if you have to, but get them back up here quietly. Move."

Both Sheppard and Pierce gave Carter a quick salute before quickly heading off of the bridge.

* * *

When the _Titan_ had been designed, it had been decided to forge the traditional F-302 fighter bays that were found on the 303's and 304's for a smaller bay located on top of the ship, just under and forward of the bridge. Since the size of the bay would have made storing any number of 302's impossible, it had been decided to store a pair of Puddle Jumpers instead. 

And right now, Major Pierce was glad they had gone that route.

The hanger doors slid open, and both Jumpers rose off of the deck and took off. As the drive pods extended their cloaking generators engaged, rendering both ships invisible.

"Jumper 2, this is Jumper 1." Sheppard called out over the radio, "Maintain com silence unless necessary. We don't know how good their sensors are, and we really don't want to test them."

"Copy that." Mitchell replied, looking over the interior of the Jumper. "Hey Shep, this thing got any more weapons on it?"

"Negative, only thing they got are the drones."

"Too bad. I'd feel better if they were better armed." Almost before he finished the sentence, a hidden compartment slid out of the dashboard, revealing six futuristic-looking handguns.(A/N: Picture the Asurian stunners from Season 3 of Atlantis) Incredulously, Mitchell picked up one of the weapons and looked to Pierce.

"I'd feel better with a million dollars." She said hopefully, looking round the cockpit. When nothing happened, she sighed and picked up one of the weapons. "Well, it was worth a shot. These are a nice consolation prize, though."

"Teal'c, Daniel, come get one of these." Mitchell called to the back of the ship. As the two came into the cockpit, the ship began to shudder slightly as it entered the atmosphere.

"Two minutes to rendezvous." Pierce announced. "I'm reading a heavy fire zone down their- mortars, air support, and multiple ground units, reading as heavy machinery."

"Jumper 2, this is Jumper 1," Mitchell said over his radio. "Looks like we're going in fighting. Take out as much air support as you can on your first pass, then swing around and land at the western end of the engagement zone. We'll do the same, and land at the eastern edge."

"Copy that. Going in now." Sheppard replied, then in the air in front of them the Puddle Jumper shimmered into existence and fired a salvo of drones at the unprepared Raiders.

* * *

"We're being cut to pieces here!" Anders screamed. "We have to fall back to your ships!" 

"No good, the mortars are zeroing in on our escape route!" Kara yelled back. "We're cut off…" she trailed off as two of the Raiders flying overhead were struck with strange, glowing projectiles and exploded- and through the smoke cloud created by the explosion a strange, cylinder-shaped green craft with short wings on either side burst through. "What the frack is that?!" she exclaimed, but her cry was drowned out by more explosion as another, similar craft joined in the fray, taking out the other circling Raiders before swinging around and firing a couple of the strange missiles at the Cylons on the ground.

"Sharon!" Kara called to their resident Cylon, who was taking cover behind a log with her husband Helo, "You recognize those things?"

"Never seen them before!" she called back, staring at the ships in awe as they gracefully settled down to the ground. "They're definitely not Cylons!"

The Cylons seemed to realize this, too, for they turned their fire from the surviving Colonials to the new arrivals. Kara watched in amazement as the aft bulkhead started to lower-

Revealing the tallest human she ever saw.

At least, she hoped he was human, because there was no way in hell she could take him in a fight if it came to that.

The tall man, with brown hair worn in dreadlocks and worn, battle-stained clothing hefted his comparatively small weapon and began firing at the advancing Cylons, even as he ducked and weaved out of his ship and into the cover of the forest.

Ronon bobbed and weaved as fast as he could, dodging the automatic fire from the advancing robots. _Slug-throwers._ He thought to himself as the tree he ducked behind was chewed up by the rounds. He leaned out as little as possible and, rapidly taking aim, and fired a short burst from the P-90 into the advancing machine.

The machine just shrugged it off.

Ronon fired again, this time aiming fro the head. One of the bullets pierced the long, red glass strip that the Satedion guessed housed it's ocular sensors, but it still kept coming. "To hell with this," he muttered to himself, dropping the useless weapon and drawing his pistol. Setting it to kill, he ran out from behind the chewed up tree and fired three rapid shots at the machine, even as he ducked and rolled behind the fallen log. As he came to a rest he peeked over the log to see the high energy discharges had ripped efficiently through the machine. "This is Ronon to all team members," he growled into his radio piece as he took down two more of the machines in rapid sequence, "Our regular rounds aren't working. If you got anything heavier, now's the time to use it."

Pierce squeezed herself as far up against the side of the _Jumper_ as she could to avoid the incoming fire. Mitchell was just outside, making use of a fallen tree to gain some cove r as well, his P-90 firing rapidly at the approaching machines. While it wasn't very effective, it wasn't totally ineffective either and he had managed to take down several with well-placed headshots.

"Ronon, this is Mitchell. We copy. Be aware that there are Alterian weapons n a hidden compartment in the Jumper. I'd recommend using those, or take them out with head-shots. Daniel!" he called to the archeologist, who was laying down covering fire as some of the Colonials made their way towards their position, "You doing okay?"

"Oh, I'm doing wonderful!"

"Just like the good old days, yeah?"

"I was trying to forget the good old days!"

"Shaft, look out!"

Alerted by Pierce's cry, Mitchell turned around to see a Cylon rapidly approaching. Flicking the fire-switch to full auto, Cameron opened up on the machine, pouring armor-piercing rounds into it.

The Cylon just shrugged it off, then raised it's arm-cannon-

And was then knocked to the ground as Pierce tackled the machine.

Biting back a cry of pain at the contact, Pierce dropped her P-90 and pulled out the Alterian pistol, pumping three shots into it. The Cylon exploded, sending small pieces of shrapnel flying everywhere, and Pierce bit her lip as a small piece tore into her bad knee. Pushing the pain out of her mind, She shifted her aim to the next, and the next, and finally the third and last Cylon on the battlefield. The last Cylon got off a few rounds, causing the Major to duck and roll out of the way. As she came to rest on her back she fired off one more shot, taking it out, before shifting her aim to the person holding a weapon down on her.

* * *

"Colonel Carter I'm receiving flash traffic from Avalon." Ramsey reported. "They got the long-range sensors up and running, and they're reporting a large group of vessels about ten light years from the nebula." 

"More of our friends out there?"

"Negative, they don't think so." Ramsey replied "The biggest ship they've been able to identify is smaller than those ships out there, but they do say that it's size and composition matches the _Atlantia_."

"So maybe a sister ship." Carter mused.

"That's their thinking, sir. Command's thinking of sending the _Prometheus _to investigate, maybe even make first contact."

"Anything else?"

"No, sir." Ramsey replied.

"How are things on the planet?" Carter asked.

"We picked up weapons fire, but it seems to have died down." Ramsey said.

"Well, lets hope it stays that way." Carter said quietly. For everyone's sake."

* * *

Silence had descended upon the forest as the last Cylon fell. No longer under fire, Kara 'Starbuck' Thrace kept her rifle trained on the strange women who lay on the ground in front of her. 

"So…is that a rifle in your hand, or are you just happy to see me?" the woman asked.

Okay, so not so silent.

"Who the frack are you?" the pilot demanded.

"Taxi service. Someone call for a lift?" Pierce replied sarcastically.

"Hawkeye…" Cameron said warningly. Pierce just scoffed.

"Please, sir. She's got a gun pointed at my head. You expect me not to be sarcastic?"

"I expect you to act professional."

"Boy, did you hire the wrong pilot." Pierce muttered back.

"Look, why don't we all put our weapons down and talk…" Daniel started, but was cut off by Helo pointing his weapon at him.

"No, how about you put your weapons down?"

"How about not." Ronon growled.

"We don't know you." Anders pointed out. "You come in here in your strange ships firing your strange weapons, you take down a full division of Cylons, and you expect us not to be suspicious of you?"

"Well, we did save your life, sunshine." Pierce pointed out. "If we wanted you dead, you'd be dead."

"Not a very comforting thing to say right now." Kara pointed out, raising her weapon a little higher.

"You try lying on this ground with a gun pointed at your head, then you can criticize my negotiating techniques."

"We mean you no harm! We're peaceful explorers form a planet called Earth…" in an instant, everyone in the valley started talking excitedly, whispering things about the Thirteenth Colony. Mitchell leaned over to Daniel.

"Looks like you said the magic word." he murmured.

"Yeah, guess so."

"You're from Earth?" Kara suddenly demanded. "Bullshit."

"Born and raised in Chicago, sister." the pilot replied.

"Alright, look." Sheppard started. "We're from Earth. We just started investigating this region of space when we found evidence of a rather large civilization in these parts. We came to investigate, saw a bunch of radioactive planets, then detected your ships coming in for a landing. We came down to investigate, and lend a hand, if need be. That's the story thus far, and it's all true. So why don't we all put our weapons down and discuss this like civilized beings?"

Kara looked to Anders, then to Helo and Sharron, who seemed to know what she was asking and shook her head. Finally she let out a breath. "Fine. We'll all drop them on three, okay?"

"Deal." Mitchell replied.

"Okay. One…Two…"

"Wait!" Pierce cried out, startling everyone. "Is it one-two-three-then drop, or is it one-two-and drop on three?"

"HAWKEYE!"

"What?" she cried back innocently. "This is the kind of thing that would be good to know!"

"ON three." Kara ground out. "One…two…three!" At once, everyone lowered their weapons. Pierce slid the Alterian blaster into her waistband, then pulled herself back so that she was resting against a tree. She smirked a the glare Kara was giving her.

"What? Never met a smart-ass pilot?"

"Not one worse than her, at any rate." Helo said, earning a glare from his friend. "What?"

Kara turned her attention to Daniel. "You say you're from Earth?"

"That's right." The doctor replied.

"Alright. Prove it."

"Do you want to see our license and registration, officer?" Pierce deadpanned. Kara threw her an exasperated look.

"I don't care what you show me. Just prove you are what you say you are, and not some new model of Cylons we haven't seen before."

"I take it these are Cylons." Daniel said, indicating the fallen robots.

"Those are the mechanical form Cylons, yes." Sharron replied. "But there are also human formed Cylons as well. And I don't know what all of them look like."

"Great. More human form robots." Mitchell groused. "Sam won't be happy about that."

"We've had our own problems with human form robots." Daniel explained. "Look, I don't know how we can prove who we are, short of taking you up to our ship…"

"Yeah, see that's the thing." Kara interrupted. "How the frack do you have a ship in orbit when the Cylon fleet is parked up there as well?"

"I don't know if you noticed, but our technology is just a little more advanced then theirs." Pierce noted. "Our ship has a cloak on it."

"Cloaking technology is impossible."Sharron said. "The Cylons experimented with it years ago, but the energy consumption is prohibitive."

"It normally is for large ships." McKay added, "But we have ways of producing enough power to make it viable."

"How'd you overcome the sensor deadening effects of a cloaking field?"

Rodney smiled, finally in his element. "Well, it's quite simple. You see-"

"Excuse me? Nerds? Can I have your attention?" Sheppard interrupts, causing Rodney's grin to falter. "Look, I hate to interrupt this highly intellectual conversation that probably no one here would be able to follow, but we are still deep in enemy territory, and the homicidal robots are probably regrouping as we speak."

"They are." Piece announced."I can see the sensor's HUD from here. They're about a mile out, and closing fast. I'd say we got about five minutes before we're overrun."

"Can you tell from what direction?"

Pierce pointed southwest. "About three klicks thataway."

"We have to leave now if we want to get everyone back to the Raptors." Helo said, but Sharron shook her head.

"We got a lot of injured. We won't make it before we cross paths with them."

"Look," Piece interrupted, "I know a lot of things are happening at once, probably too many to really take in. And I know that, asides from saving your asses, you really don't have any reason to trust us. But right now all of our asses are on the line, and it's universally agreed that we all need to get out of here. So here's the deal- anyone who can make it, head for your ships. WE get the wounded onto the _Jumper_s and take them up to our ship where we can treat their wounds. Then we can all meet up and exchange proper greetings and set both of our stories straight. But for right now, you're going to have to take our sincerity on faith. Grunting in pain, she pulled herself to her feet, though she was still leaning heavily against the tree. "So how you take a chance and trust us so we can all get off of this rock?"

Kara looked over to Anders, then to Helo and Sharon. Finally she blew out a breath and nodded.

"Fine. But you screw with us, and so help me gods I'll kill you."

Pierce smirked. "Well, it's not like I can run away at the moment…"

"Hi…sorry to interrupt, but may I remind you about the imminent death we all face if we don't move out now?" Rodney said.

"Right." Sheppard agreed. "Let's get the wounded into the Jumpers. Everyone else, bug out now."

"How are you going to find us?" one of the Raptor pilots asked.

"There's a good bet that our outpost's long-range sensors are working now." Mitchell replied. "If they are, we'll be able to pick up your ships."

"When you get back," Kara added, "Tell the old man that we got another ride home."

"Yes sir." The pilot replied, then started gathering everyone together and moving off into the forest towards their ships.

"Anders, you and me will ride with the loudmouth." Kara said, ignoring Pierce's mock-wounded look. "Helo, you and Sharon ride with the whiner…"

"I'm not whining!" Rodney whined indignantly.

"You're whining." Sheppard agreed. "Everybody on board who's coming on board, then."

As fast as possible the Earth and Colonial soldiers loaded the wounded into the two Jumpers. Soon, Pierce collapsed into the pilots chair as Mitchell took the copilots seat. Daniel and Teal'c elected to sit in the back with the wounded, while Starbuck and Anders rode up front. As the rear hatch closed, Pierce hit the intercom.

"Attention, this is your captain speaking. We are about to commence lift off procedures, so please make sure all seat backs and tray tables are in the upright and locked position. Peanuts and drinks will be handed out as soon as the seatbelts sign is turned off, and our in flight movie today will be 'Airplane!'."

"Surely you can't be serious." Mitchell intoned as he activated the cloak.

"Of course I'm serious, and don't call me Shirley." Pierce deadpanned. "Enjoy the flight, and thank you for flying Air Jumper." Pierce looked over to Mitchell with a smirk. "It's 106 miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark and we're wearing sunglasses."

Mitchell chuckled. "Hit it."

As the Jumper lifted smoothly into the air, Anders looked back and forth between the two pilots. "You two are nuts. You know that, right?"

Mitchell nodded. "Yeah, we know."

"You two fly together often?" Kara asked, trying to strike up some kind of conversation.

"We used to fly in the same squadron, until he went and got promoted."

Kara nodded, staring at the displays arrayed on the front windscreen. She had never seen heads-up technology like this before in her life. Another sight caught her attention as they broke out of the atmosphere though- the sight of two massive Cylon Basestars hanging in space. "Uh…you said you had cloaking technology right?"

"That's right."

"Oh. Good." Kara was about to continue, when a sudden explosion lit up the space before them. "What the frack?"

* * *

"This technology is incredible. I've never seen anything like it- it's like its intuitive." Sharon was saying, staring in awe at the HUD. 

"It is in a way." Rodney replied. "You see, some people have a certain gene that allows them to operate the Jumper in a way that people without the gene couldn't."

"I'd love to give it a try." Helo remarked. "It handles like a dream."

"What can you tell us about these Cylons?" Sheppard asked Sharon. "You seemed to be the resident expert."

Sharon sent a sideways glance to Helo, then turned to Sheppard. "There are two types of Cylons- the ones you fought on the planet, those were soldiers. There are also human form Cylons that perfectly mimic human beings. We've identified four, but our intelligence says that there are twelve human Cylon models."

"How were you able to identify them?"

"Dr. Baltar, our resident genius, developed some kind of test." Helo replied. "Unfortunately, it takes a long time to screen the number of people we have in our fleet."

"Well, we got some pretty advanced medical technology, thanks to some friends." Sheppard replied. "Maybe we can find a way to make things go fast-" Sheppard was cut off violently as a Cylon Raider, coming out of nowhere, collided with the Jumper. The Raider instantly disintegrated into a ball of flame, the force of the explosion ripped the starboard engine pod clean off of the ship and sending the _Jumper_ into a flat spin.

Inside the ship, Sheppard was desperately fighting for control for the Jumper as alarms he had never even heard before were sounding. After a minute of wresting with the stick, Sheppard finally got the ship under control.

"REPORT!" he yelled to Rodney.

"We got hit by a Cylon Raider!" Helo replied. "How the hell are we still here?"

"We're here, but barely!"Rodney shouted over the alarms. "The hull's secure, but we lost the starboard engine pod…"

"Can you fix it?"

"Are you nuts? It didn't go offline- we LOST it! It got ripped off in the collision! We also lost the cloak- and we got a fuel leak."

"A FUEL leak? What, do we run on unleaded or something?"

"No, but the ship is pretty freaking damaged, and the computers don't realize that the engine pod is gone. So it's sending more and more energy to it to try and even us out." He stared at the displays for a moment. "At this rate, we'll run out of energy before we get back to the _Titan_."

"Can you stop the energy bleed?"

"Well, considering if I don't we'll all DIE, then yeah, sure I can fix it…" The ship was suddenly rocked as a missile impacted against the hull. "The hell?"

"We're under attack by multiple Raiders." Sharron announced, looking out the windscreen.

"Rodney, stop that bleed. Ronon, get everybody secure back there." Urging the ship to go as fast as possible, Sheppard reached over and turned on the ship to ship radio. "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday, this is Jumper One. I am declaring an emergency. We have lost our starboard drive pod and have sustained heavy damage. We are leaking fuel and are currently under heavy hostile attack. _Titan_, I am requesting immediate assistance. Repeat-Mayday, maday, mayday, this is Jumper One. I am declaring an emergency…

* * *

Kara watched helplessly as the other Jumper was rocked by yet another missile as Sheppard's mayday played over the radio. "How much of that can they take?" she asked Pierce. 

"It's hard to say. But these babies were built to last."

"Will your ship make it to them in time?"

Pierce shook her head. "No." She looked over to Mitchell. "Permission to do something crazy, sir."

"Granted."

"Switching cloak to shield. "_Titan_, this is Jumper Two. Be advised I'm moving in to assist." Taking a deep breath, Pierce went in.

The darkness of space was being brightened as multiple missiles impacted on the unprotected hull of Jumper One as the wounded ship sluggish made its way towards the moon where their mother ship lay behind. Suddenly two of the pursuing Raiders exploded as Two decloaked and sent a Drone into the mass of pursuing Cylon ships. The second Jumper bobbed and weaved between the fighters, taking missiles of it's wounded friend and, when possible, drawing them onto other Cylons. In the distance, one of the Basestars started to move towards the two Earth vessels, sensing easy pray.

Those senses were shattered moments later as the massive form of the _Titan_ shimmered into view. At once the mighty rail guns spat their yellow fire at the raiders, simultaneously taking out more of the flying missiles while launching it's own missiles at the two enormous ships in the distance.

On the bridge of the _Titan_, Samantha Carter sat back in the command chair and eyed the situation.

"Distance to the two Jumpers?"

"Approximately 16000 kilometers." Ramsey answered.

"Jumper One is no longer leaking power." Kvasir announced. "However, they do not have sufficient energy to make it to us. We will need to go to them."

"Very well. Mr. Perkins," she looked to the interim helm officer, "Take us in, full military thrust. Mr. Ramsey, can you set the rail guns so that the even numbered guns target the fighters, while the odd numbered guns target any incoming missiles?"

"Yes sir, it's possible. But with a ZPM enhancing our shields, it's hardly necessary."

"True, but I don't want them to know about our shields just yet." Carter replied, then hit the com button on her chair. "Colonel Sheppard, this is Colonel Carter. Make your way towards us, and we'll meet you in the middle."

* * *

"Holy frak, that's your ship?"Kara breathed, taking in the sight of the _Titan_ as t glided effortlessly through space towards the fight. Pierce smiled with pride. 

"That's my girl." She replied. "The _Titan_. First of her kind." An alarm broke her reverie. "What the… radiation alarm. They're launching nukes!"

"At the _Titan_?" Anders asked.

"No-at Jumper One." Mitchell announced. "There's no way-"

"I'm on it!" Pierce yelled, taking her Jumper into the path of the nukes. As soon as she was certain they had locked onto her ship, she started a wide arc away from Jumper One and the _Titan_.

"Okay- this is a bad plan." Mitchell said. "Even with our shields, I don't think we'd survive being hit by two nukes…"

"I don't plan on being hit by them at all." Pierce said as she turned her ship back towards the nearest Basestar. Kara understood what Pierce was about to do and groaned.

"Oh, gods…"

"Hawkeye, you're not…"

"I am."

"No."

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes!"

"NO!"

"YES!"

And before Mitchell could argue any further, the Jumper entered the massive ship.

* * *

"Okay-did Pierce just take her _Jumper_ inside that Basestar?" Sheppard asked, risking a glance out the windscreen as he fount to keep the ship level- well, on a straight course, at least, he found he was slowly corkscrewing through space due to the engine imbalance and couldn't do anything about that. 

"Yes, she did." Helo said. "Man, she's as crazy as-" a brilliant explosion cut him off as the two nukes that had been trailing the other Jumper exploded inside the ship, causing the Basestar to erupt into flames. "Starbuck." He finished with a whisper.

"We got bigger problems." Sheppard ground out, pushing the pain of loosing some of his own men- and friends- as he fought with his Jumper. "We're coming in hot- and upside down. Everybody," he called to the people in the back, "Hang on. We're going to hit hard!"

Sheppard tried- he really did- but in the end, the damage was too great. At the last instant he threw the engine into full reverse, but their momentum, along with the _Titan_'s forward velocity, practically through the Jumper through the atmospheric shield. The occupants all crashed to the ceiling, which had become the floor when the _Titan_'s gravity field took hold, and were thrashed around as the craft skidded across the landing deck, stopping suddenly as it impacted violently with the aft bulkhead.

* * *

Jumper Two screamed through the Basestars immense inner corridors, the two nukes only meters behind them. 

"You are beyond insane!" Kara yelled. Pierce grinned maniacally.

"Yippee-ki-ay!" she shouted, eying a ninety-degree turn up ahead. "Everybody, hold on!" Instinctively calling on the engines to go even faster, she fired her last two drones, which shot up ahead of the craft, then moved out of sight as they flew up the corridor ahead. Kara caught the flash of an explosion, then suddenly the Jumper made the gut-wrenching turn. She spied the exit the two Drones had made a split second before the trailing nukes impacted the tunnel behind them. The shockwave helped to push them out of the newly created hole, just before the massive Cylon battleship was vaporized by its own missiles.

"_Titan_, this is Jumper Two." Pierce said calmly into her mic as the other three passengers sat on the edge of panic, "We are coming in for landing. Perkins, you on the stick?"

"Yes, sir."

"Okay. We're going to do a barn swallow." She said calmly. "I've shown you how to do this, and I know you can. You just keep her nice and straight and let me do the rest. As soon as we're on the deck, you pull a 180 and jump out, got it?"

"Yes, sir." The other pilots voice replied.

"Do I even want to know what a 'barn swallow' is?" Anders asked, somewhat fearfully.

"They scoop us up on the fly as we head at them, then jump into hyperspace." Mitchell explained. He looked over to Pierce. "You're coming in awfully fast, don't you think?"

"No." she replied nervously. "Not really."

Jumper Two sped on towards the _Titan_, rapidly closing the distance. At the last moment Pierce flipped the ship around, backing it into the landing bay and bringing it to a near-instant stop right on the landing pad, then watched out the windscreen as the stars swirled in a dizzying pattern until they were swallowed up by the purple and white vortex of Hyperspace. The four of them all let out nervous breaths as Pierce powered down the _Jumper_ and set it gently onto the ground. She looked over at Mitchell and grinned.

"Now, that's what I call a close encounter." She quipped, heaving out another sigh. "Man, I could use a smoke."

Kara shook her head in disbelief, then produced a cigar from her tac vest and presented it to the reckless pilot. Pierces stared at the figurative olive branch for a moment before taking it and chomping off the end.

"You got a light?"

TBC

* * *

A/N: First off, thanks to everyone for all of yoru reviews. For those who care- I am working on the next chapter of Episode 5, and hope to have it out by the end of the month. I'm just suffering form a little bit of burnout over Star Wars right now, and that, along with everything else, has really hampered my writing.

Secondly, I find that I must respond to a few reviews I've gotten recently dealing with the character of Elizabeth Pierce. My understanding of a Mary Sue character is a character that essentially puts the author into the story in a major role. I'll be the first to admit that Andrew Kirk was a Mary Sue when I first started writing him, and still is today (even though I've tried to seperate myself fromthe character as much as possible). Elizabeth Pierce, the crew of the Titan, and the ship itself are not meant to be Mary Sue characters (and yes, I realsie now that Douglas Ramsey was a character in the New Mutants known as Cypher- but when I chose the name, I had forgotten that. I just thought the name sounded good), they are menat to be new characters introdued into an existing universe- much like John Sheppard and his team was in the Atlantis pilot, and much like Cameron Mitchell was in season 9 of SG-1, or Valla Maldoran in Seasons 8 and on. I know that a lot of readers out there don't particularly like original charactres, and feel that the story could be better served by set characters. In this story, this will not be the case. I have big plans for my original charcters- I also have big plans for the set charactrs like Kara and Mitchell. So thank you all for your reviews- I enjoy reading all of the positive and negative. And I encourage all of you to keep on reading and reviewing, no matter what your feeling son this story are.

Okay, soap box is over. Next chapter- some secrets are revealed.


	9. Chapter 9: Of Religion and Cylons

**Chapter 9**

**Of Religion and Cylons**

* * *

**Caprica**

Six stepped around another fallen warrior model as she surveyed the damage wrought to the forest. Dozens of drones were destroyed, and the surviving Colonists had fled. She didn't have a problem with that part- they were meant to escape, so that their operatives could join up with the rag-tag fleet. It was how they escaped that had her in a foul mood.

"Do we know where these new ships came from?" she asked her companion. The other human form shook his head, his medium brown hair waved in the slight breeze.

"No, and their technology was unlike anything we've encountered before."

"Did our operatives make it back to the fleet?"

"Brother Cavil managed to secure a place on one of the Colonial Raptors. Our other operative stayed with the wounded, and was taken to the mystery ship. We should know more when the operative is able to make contact."

"If they can make contact." He corrected, then shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Soon we will be reunited with all of our loved ones," the new Cylon smiled, "As we welcome them home."

* * *

"Anybody dead back there?" Pierce called back to the rear of the jumper, taking another drag on the alien cigar. 

"Not for your lack of trying, but no, we're all alive back here." Daniel retorted.

"Though some of the Colonials need medical care soon." Teal'c added.

"Let's get them all out onto the hangar deck then." Mitchell responded. "Opening the rear hatch." As the hatch opened, they were immediately assaulted by the smell of scorched metal.

"That doesn't smell good." Starbuck noted. Pierce nodded in agreement as she struggled to stand up.

"Nope, it surely doesn't…god DAMN it!" she howled in pain. "God damn, mother-fucking knee…"

"Anybody ever tell you that you cuss like a sailor?" Mitchell asked, trying to hide his grin as he helped her out of the cockpit.

"Not anybody with a shred of sense."

The four made it out onto the hanger deck an stared in amazement at the sight before them- Jumper one, sans one drive pod and covered with scorch marks and impact craters, was upside down and impacted against the rear bulkhead.

"By the gods…" Starbuck breathed. She looked to see Helo and Sharon sitting on some crates in the middle of the bay as they tended to each others wounds. Meanwhile, more of the Titan's crew was helping the wounded off of the dead Jumper.

"Hey Sharon!" Kara called. "Guess we finally found somebody who comes in for a landing worse than you!"

The reformed Cylon stared at Starbuck for a minute, before finally cracking her first smile in weeks. "Yeah. Make sure their Chief knows this wasn't my fault."

"You two okay?"

"Been better, but we're still alive." Helo replied, then indicated to what he had been staring at. "Starbuck, look."

Starbuck turned around- and gasped at what she saw. The bay doors were still opened, exposed to space. But the space outside wasn't normal- it was a weird conflux of purple and white energy, streaming by the sides of the portal. Not taking her eyes off of the sight, she spoke to Pierce.

"Why aren't we dead? And what the frack is that?"

"Atmospheric shields, and that is hyperspace." She replied calmly. "We probably do things a bit differently than you do."

"Probably." The stunned pilot agreed numbly. Just then Colonel Carter came onto the deck, followed by a stunned looking Lieutenant Hailey and determined looking Cadet Frasier.

"Commander on deck!" one of the deck hands called out, and instantly all of the able military personnel, both Earth and Colonial, snapped to attention.

"At ease, everyone." Carter replied, eying the damage. "Well, someone had fun…"

"Sheppard, what the hell did you do to my Jumper?" Hailey moaned, then saw the damaged bulkhead. "Forget the Jumper, what did you do to my landing bay?"

"We're fine." Sheppard replied sarcastically, holding a cloth to his head to staunch the blood flow from a nasty looking gash. "Don't mind all of us, just lying here and bleeding to death…"

Carter ignored the byplay between the two officers and looked to the huddle refugees, looking lost, hurt, and more than a little afraid. "Hello, I'm Colonel Samantha Carter. I'm the commander of this ship." She explained to them. "Who's in charge here?"

"I am." Starbuck replied, stepping forward with Anders only a short ways behind her. "Captain Kara Thrace, Colonial Military. This is Samuel T. Anders, whose been leading the civilians on the ground. Over there are Lieutenant Karl Agathon, my second in command for this mission, and our tech specialist Sharon Valerii." She finished, twisting the truth just little. The less they knew about the Cylons right now, the better.

"Welcome aboard the _Titan_, Captain." Carter said, then turned to the crowd of refugees. "I want you all to know that you are not our prisoners, you are our guests. We'll do our best to care for your needs. This," she indicated the cadet behind her, "Is Cadet Frasier, our assistant medical officer. She'll give everyone a quick once over before escorting you to sickbay. After we treat your injuries, we'll send you down to the mess hall to get something to eat. Captain," she turned back to Kara, "Am I to assume that you are a part of a rather large grouping of ships?"

Kara blinked in surprise. "Yes, we are." She replied carefully. "How did you…"

"We have an outpost very near the sector they are in now. Our long range sensors picked them up." Carter replied. "It will take us about eight hours to get there. Once we arrive, we'll arrange to have you sent back to your ship."

While the two officers were talking, Frasier was making the rounds, looking over the injured and triaging the worse off to deck hands to have them taken down to sickbay immediately. Finally she arrived at a wincing Major Pierce.

"Well well, look who fouled up her knee again. Hobble along down to Sickbay, I'll be right there."

Pierce threw her a look. "You do realize that I outrank you by a mile, right?"

"Not when your health is in concern, Major." She then turned to the crowd. "And while we're at it, let me make this brief announcement- I realize I'm only a cadet, but I am the assistant chief medical officer on this ship. That mean, when you are in sickbay or under my care, you can call me god. I will not tolerate any smart mouth, back talk, or blatant sarcasm while I'm trying to save your lives, and if you give me any sass, I will toss you out the nearest missile tube. Any comments? No? Good- let's go. Get 'em up and down to sickbay, the Doc's waiting." Frasier made a quick exit, followed closely by a limping Major Pierce, supported by Cameron and muttering darkly all the way. Kara followed with an amused gaze, then turned back to Carter.

"She and our doctor would get along great." She remarked.

* * *

"I'm telling you, I'm fine!" 

"And when you become a Doctor, you can contradict me. Until then, shut up and do what you're told!"

"You're not even a full doctor yet!"

"Semantics."

"Semantics!"

Dr. Alexi Kostya rolled his eyes at the by play between the XO and his assistant as they entered the diminutive sickbay, followed by a rather large group of ragged looking people. "Cadet, report?" he asked in his heavily accented voice.

"Approximately thirty refugees and SAR personnel, injuries varying between lacerations, fractured or broken bones, exposure, GSW or a combination of all. Also everyone's been exposed to high levels of radiation, some for longer than others."

"We've been taking anti-radiation meds." Anders supplied. "We've had to cut back a bit, but we should all be radiation free."

Dr. Kostya's brow furrowed. Medication that protected against prolonged exposure to radiation? There were theories floating around, but a working medicine… "Do you have any with you?" he asked. When Anders nodded, the doctor continued, "Give some to Nurse Lampkin. I want her to run some tests on it. Ladies and gentlemen, I am Doctor Kostya, the Chief Medical officer on this ship. If you don't he any life-threatening injuries, please move off to the side so we can treat those who do first. While you wait, I need you to step behind the screen and put on one of our jump suits. Please leave all of your gear on the table by the door, we'll get it back to you once it's decontaminated."

"I'm not sure I want to give up our weapons." Starbuck said, taking a step forward. "I know you're helping us here, but I don't like the idea of my people being defenseless."

"Captain Thrace, I don't want any equipment that's been exposed to radiation loose aboard this ship until it's been decontaminated." Colonel Carter said from the door. "However, I can understand your position. Your SAR team can keep their small arms- but everything else has to be checked. You may be our guests, but this is still a military vessel. I'll not have anyone besides our Marines carrying heavy weapons."

Meanwhile, Cassie had led Pierce over to the second sick bed. "Hop up on there, if you can."

"You're funny." Pierce growled as she pulled herself up onto the bed. "Now just get that fucking shrapnel out of my knee."

Cassie grabbed a pair of surgical scissors and started cutting away the material around the wound. Once she was done with that, she picked up an alcohol swab and started cleaning the wound. "Exactly what happened?" she asked to distract the Major from the pain.

"Killer robots. Killer freaking robots, that's what happened." Pierce replied, ignoring the pain as Cassie used a pair of forceps to pull out the offending piece of metal. "You know, I knew signing on with the SGC I would see some crazy shit. But killer robots?"

"Did Sam ever tell you about the Replicators?" Cassie asked. "Self replicating robots, created by an advanced artificial intelligence. Nearly wiped out the Asgard."

"Yeah, I think I read about that mission. No anesthesia." She warned the Doctor, "The only thing that shot does is put you in more pain so you don't feel the needle going in and out. Just sew it up."

Cassie shrugged. "All right."

"What's your name?" Dr. Kostya asked the woman now seated on his exam table.

"Sharon Valerii."

"Any major injuries?" he asked as he quickly passed his scanner over the woman.

"Just some minor scrapes. Nothing major."

The doctor looked at the scanner as the reading popped up, and his brow furrowed. The scanners had been originally designed and used by the Tok'ra, and had scanning functions far beyond any current human scanning technology, baring a CAT scan- and there was no way a ship this small would have one of those on board. Currently the hand scanners could puck up a number of different biological conditions in a human body. It could also pick up artificial compounds in a body, like artificial hips, metal plates-

Or syntho-organic substances, which were currently spread throughout the patients entire body.

Deciding to keep this to himself for the moment, he shut off the scanner. "You have no life-threatening injuries, Ms. Valerii. You may get some fresh clothes and proceed to the mess hall."

"Thanks, Doc." Sharron replied, jumping down from the table. The Cylon moved to stand next to Helo as Kostya smiled and waved the next person over, handing his scanner to the Nurse. "Get me another scanner, and give this one to the Colonel. It's broken, and she knows Tok'ra technology best." He finished, giving the nurse a look. She gave him a quick salute and headed out the door to follow the departing Colonel.

"All right, you're all patched up." Cassie announced. "I just need to give you a shot, then you are on your way." She smirked as Pierce grumbled and began rolling up her sleeve. "It's not that kind of shot."

Pierce glared at the cadet. "I hate you."

"I hate you too, sir." She replied sweetly."Now stand up and drop trou." Pierce grumbled as she scrambled to her feet, quickly undoing her belt. "Turn around and bend over, please."

"What ever happened to 'Don't ask, don't tell'?" Pierce groused, ignoring the snickers of both the Earth and Colonial crews.

"Funny." Cassie replied, sticking the needle into the small vial of medicine she had retrieved.

"I usually am. Tell me again: how does a needle in the ass help a pain in my knee?"

"You had a piece of foreign metal lodged into your body. I need to give you a tetanus shot." Cassie pulled the needle out of the vial and pushed the excess air out. "Don't worry, this won't hurt me a bit."

Pierce rolled her eyes. "Great. Hey, Doc? Could you really jam it in there this time?" she asked sarcastically. Cassie smirked, then administered the shot. "There, all done, sir, You're good to go. Oh, and Major?" Cassie added as the Major pulled up her pants and adjusted her belt. Pierce turned around and groaned as Cassie presented her with a lollypop. "For you, for being such a good patient." Annoyed, Pierce grabbed the proffered candy then, annoying the now obvious laughs, turned and limped out of the diminutive sickbay.

"She's gonna get you back for that, Cadet." Cameron noted with a smile. "Generals god-daughter or not." Cassie just shrugged, then turned to her next patient. "You need medical care, or just waiting to go to the mess?"

"Just waiting to get some food." Helo replied. "But while I'm waiting, you got anymore of those suckers lying around?"

* * *

It took nearly an hour for the Colonials to be checked out by medical and released to the custody of a small group of Marines, who were now leading them through the ship towards the mess hall. Kara led the group, along with Anders, Helo and Sharon, and the four of them were engrossed in a quiet conversation even as they took in the admittedly plain sights around them. 

"Ship looks brand new." Kara noted quietly. "Hardly any scuff marks on the floor, the walls still look pristine. Frak, even the Pegasus looks more worn."

"The Pegasus took a couple of nuke hits, though." Helo replied. "But yeah, I agree this ship is new. You think it's their flagship?"

"Doubt it. More like a recon vessel."

There was a pause in the conversation before Anders turned to look at Kara. "You really think they're from Earth?"

"I doubt they're Cylons." She responded after a moment. "I don't think they'd go as far as to blow up one of their own Basestars just to pull the wool over our eyes. They're not Colonials, because I don't recognize any of this technology. And if they're not from Earth, then the question becomes where did they come from?"

"If they're not from Earth, that means we're not as alone as we thought we were." Helo said. "I don't know about you, but for me that's a comforting thought."

"I'll be more comfortable when we know what they want from us." Sharon added. "Maybe it's my inner Cylon coming out, but I'm not prepared to just blindly trust them because they saved our lives."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Sharon." Kara said after a moment. "I want to know why." The group hushed as they approached the doors to the mess hall. The lead marine hit the door control, causing the two massive doors slide open and Kara to stare in shock.

The mess hall was a large room, probably the largest on the sip outside of the cargo holds and Jumper bays, and was capable of seating up to seventy people. The front of the room held the galley and serving area, the far wall was long, segmented windows that stared out into the void of hyperspace.

"You have got to be fraking kidding me." Kara murmured, moving towards the windows and looking into the swirling vortex of space beyond.

"Heck of a view, eh?" Cameron said, coming up besides the four. Kara looked at him incredulously.

"You people are either crazy or stupid to have this many windows on your warships."

"Or we have better shielding." Cameron retorted easily. "You all hungry? Grubs this way."

Cameron led them through the mess line, each of the colonials grabbing healthy amounts of food before moving on to a table nearest the large bank of windows.

"Do your big ships even have any windows?" Cameron asked as the small group dug into their meals.

"Galactica's got an observation port at the bow, but that's it." Helo explained. "This many windows would be too tempting a target for the Cylons."

"Well, our ships have received a few…upgrades from some friends. Hey! Hawkeye!" Cam waved at the Major, who was getting her own meal, "Come take a seat."

Kara stopped shoveling the food into her mouth to watch Major Pierce limp towards them, stopping at several tables to exchange greetings with several of the crew. Many more raised their drinks in greeting to their XO. Kara stared at the crew behavior for a few moments before turning to Mitchell.

"Colonel, what's her story anyway?" she asked. "The way the rest of your crew's acting, you'd think she was the Commander or something."

"She was, for a short time." Mitchell replied. "This used to be her ship, until the brass decided she wasn't experienced enough to take it out on our current mission. She got bumped down to Executive Officer, while Sam was placed in command."

"If she wasn't experienced enough, why give her command in the first place?" Sharon asked. Mitchell squirmed a little as he thought of the best way to answer.

"Well, it was kind of the fact that she pissed off the wrong General."

"What did she do?"

"I kicked him in the nuts." Pierce replied as she came up behind Mitchell. Gingerly she sat down next to him, much to his amusement. Kara looked at the Major , astonished. She had pulled some stunts in her career, but never anything like that.

"Why?"

"He wanted me to suck his cock. I wanted to relive him of that particular urge." She replied matter-of-factly. "He didn't take kindly to me after that."

Silence descended over the table after that as they continued to eat. Mitchell watched in amazement as the Colonials kept shoveling food into their mouths, barely stopping to wash it down with water. "You do know we have plenty more, right?"

"Sorry." Kara mumbled, swallowing the food in her mouth and taking a gulp of water. "It's just that we've been eating a processed protein compound for months- any kind of different food is a gifts from the gods by now."

Mitchell nodded, looking over the Daniel. He hadn't missed the mention of 'gods' either, he saw. Come to think of it, they had been saying 'gods' a lot… his train of thought was derailed as he looked over at Pierce, and noticed her slow chewing and thoughtful expression. "Something wrong, Hawkeye?"

Pierce nodded and swallowed. "It taste's like chicken."

"So?"

"It's macaroni and cheese." Cautiously she took another bite, then shrugged at the taste. "Well, I _like_ chicken…"

* * *

Samantha Carter sat in the small command office that was set off to the side of the bridge, calmly filling in General O'Neill on the current situation. 

"From what Captain Thrace told me, their remaining civilization has been packed onto around fifty ships which have been steadily fleeing these Cylons."

"_And the Cylons? What do we know about them?"_

"Killer robots- and no, they aren't related to the Replicators." She added quickly. "I wasn't able to learn much- we only spoke for a few minutes before I was needed on the bridge- but I know they aren't offshoots of the Replicators. From what I was told, they launched a surprise nuclear attack on all twelve of their worlds, almost completely wiping them out. The only ones to survive were the ones on ships in transit- and even all of them didn't survive."

"_Damn."_

"Sir, they need help. They probably need food, medical supplies, and most of all protection from the Cylons. We can do that, Jack. Especially now…"

"_Any risks to us?"_

"I have some questions over one of the Colonial's medical report; I told Pierce to check that out. Other than that, I don't think so."

"_Fine. You're hereby authorized to offer aide and sanctuary to the Colonials. Have Daniel open talks with their leaders when you meet up with their fleet. Just be prepared for some fallout from the IOA."_

"Will do. Titan out."

* * *

"Military food," Pierce was saying as she finished the rest of her meal, "is like Military Intelligence- a complete contradiction of terms." 

Kara finished her second plate and pushed it away, finally full for the first time in months. "Every meal is a feast to a starving person." she quted, thining back to her interrogation of Leoben. "I'm just thanking the gods it tastes better than what we have on Galactica."

"You say that now- wait till they serve the chili." Mitchell said blandly. "Then you'll be praying to god to end your suffering."

"I've noticed you only refer to one god." Sharon asked, leaning forward slightly. "Don't you worship the Lords of Kobol of Earth?"

"Out of curiosity, who are your gods?" Daniel inquired. "If I may ask…"

"Zeus, Apollo, Ares, Artemis, Aphrodite, Athena, Aurora, Hera, Poseidon, Hermes, Demeter..." Kara replied.

"Okay…alright, I recognize those names. They were names of gods that were worshiped by the Greeks, several thousand years ago."

"Several.." Kara was shocked, and it showed. The thought that the thirteenth tribe, the Twelve Colonies last hope, was a bunch of godless heathens…"You mean, you don't worship the gods anymore?"

"Earth has many religions," Daniel explained. "Each region, each people, have their own way to worship. Some worship one god, some worship more than one. It varies…"

"Earth has more than one religion?" Helo asked.

"Oh brother, does it." Pierce interrupted. "You've got Catholics, you've got Christians, you've got Protestants- and they all stem from the same religion."

"There's also Jews, Muslims, Agnostics, Atheists, Polytheists, Voodooists…Scientologists…" Cam trailed off.

To say Kara was blown away by the revelation was an understatement. "How do you all get along? We have problems just worshiping the same gods…"

"Oh, we don't." Pierce replied calmly. "Protestants and Catholics fight, Christians waged holy wars against the Muslims, Muslims don't like Jews, everybody hates Scientologists…"

"It's not universal," Cameron put in, "But there are those few extreme cases that like to stir up trouble."

"Does every religion worship different gods, or the same god?" Sharron asked, her curiosity piqued.

"Well, it varies from religion to religion, but overall there is the believe that there was one true god who-" Daniel sputtered to s stop when Kara, upon hearing that, sprayed the mouthful of water she had just taken all over Daniel in shock.

"WHAT?!"

Pierce looked at the four with a raised eyebrow. Kara, Anders and Helo were all shocked- it was plain to see, even with an untrained eye. But Sharon, if anything, looked inordinately pleased, as if she had just been proven right about something…

"You don't seem too shocked, Ms. Valerii." She noted. "Different outlook than that of your comrades?"

"Something like that." She replied carefully.

"Didn't quite take to their human beliefs, did you?"

The question was asked innocently, but the silence that followed told the Major everything she needed to know. Finally, Sharon spoke.

"How did you know?"

Pierce grinned mirthlessly. "We have really good medical scanners. Picks up anything artificial or bio-mechanical, like most of your organs. Let me guess- you're more than just the tech specialist on this mission. Renegade human-form, maybe?"

Sharon looked to Kara, who sighed and nodded. "Yes, I am a Cylon."

"Really? " Daniel asked.

Sharon sighed. "Like I said, there are twelve human Cylon models, of which there are hundreds of copies. I'm Number 8."

"We think that's how they managed to launch their attack on us. The skin jobs infiltrated our society and laid the groundwork, then the Basestars came in and finished the job."

"We're also pretty sure there are other human models in the fleet, but we haven't been able to identify them," Helo continued. "Dr. Baltar- he's our resident genius and the Vice-President- developed a test, but it takes time. And there are a lot of tests to run."

"We can help speed up the process." Carter said as she came up to the table, having heard the last part of the conversation from the door. "I've been authorized by command to offer aid and assistance to you and your people." She turned to look at Sharon. "If I may ask, if you are a Cylon, why help your sworn enemy?"

Sharon looked to Helo and grasped his hand. "Because I fell in love. As clichéd as it sounds, I fell in love with a human. We even had a child, though she died…" she trailed off, before shaking her head and bringing herself back to reality. "I'm helping them because I love Karl," she told the Colonel, looking her dead in the eye, "And because Kara was willing to give me a chance despite everything. That's why I did it. And if that isn't enough for you…" she trailed off as Carter held up her hand to stop her.

"Let me tell you something Sharon," she started gently. "My first mission for the SGC, my team and I were taken captive by a Goa'uld named Apophis. His First Prime- the one who led all of his troops, who had served him loyally for decades, decided that our team represented his hope for the future of his people. So with nothing more than a dream, he freed us and came back to Earth with us. It took some convince, but soon after he was named as the fourth person on our team, and became one of the most trusted people in the SGC.

"What I'm saying is this- unless you do anything to endanger this ship or her crew, we will treat you the same as we will treat the rest of the Colonials. All I ask is that you not keep anymore secrets like this from us. Agreed?"

Sharon looked to Helo, then to Kara and Anders. Finally she looked back at the Colonel and nodded. "Agreed."

"Good." Sam said with a smile before turning to Pierce. "Major, report to the bridge when you're done. Captain Thrace," she turned to Kara, "We will be arriving at the coordinates of your fleet in a little over six hours. You can grab some rack time if you want, but I'd like you on the bridge when we arrive so you can tell your ship not to shoot."

"No problem." She replied. Carter nodded.

"Alright then. I'll see you in about six hours." Carter said, then turned to Daniel. "Daniel, come to my office when you're done, okay? We have some things to go over."

"I'll be there in a few minutes." He replied, gathering up his used plates. Sam smiled.

"I'll see you then." She said, then turned and walked away. The seven all rose from their seats and went their separate ways, with Mitchell Leading the Colonials to the cargo bay that had been hastily converted into an emergency barracks. Kara collapsed on the nearest bunk, with Anders right behind her, and muttered a frantic prayer to the gods before falling into an uneasy sleep.

_Oh lords, please don't let me frak up…_

**TBC**

**A/N: I hope I didn't offend anybody with my little religion explanation. I myself am a non-practicing Reformed Jew, and I hold no grudge or animosity against any other religion. **


	10. Chapter 10: Two Fleets

**Chapter 10**

**Two Fleets**

* * *

Six hours later Cameron made his way down to the cargo bay to collect Captain Thrace. As the two made their way back up to the bridge, Cameron noticed her pensive look. 

"You okay?" he asked. Kara shot him a sideways glance.

"Besides everything I expected when we finally found the Thirteenth Tribe being destroyed in a single afternoon? Yeah, I'm fraking great."

"I guess it's got to be a bit overwhelming…"

"Yeah, it is." She replied softly. "I mean, all in all? I'm handling it alright. Anders and Helo are handling it alright. And Sharon- if it wasn't for Helo, she'd probably ask you for asylum."

"She can't have an easy life among the people her people tried to wipe out." Mitchell noted. Kara nodded.

"She lives in a specially designed cell. She's shackled, collard, and led around by four heavily armed marines every time she leaves the cell- and that's only when the Old Man wants to talk, or when we were planning this op."

"They locked Teal'c up at first, too." Mitchell noted. "And for a while, even after he was cleared to move about the base, he still couldn't leave it to go outside. It takes time to build trust."

"Yeah, well… anyway, she handling it fine. The thing I'm actually worried about is the fleet's reaction." She stopped and turend to face him. "Some people aren't that religious so everything we talked about won't affect them too much But there are some die hards- the Gemeniese and the Sagitarians come to mind- that won't take well to the fact that you don't worship the gods."

Cameron nodded and considered his next words carefully. "In America, we have the freedom of religion. We choose who we worship, how we worship, when we worship, and we aren't dictated to by the government on what we can or can't do- short of human sacrifices. Those are looked down on."

"Well, the President decided to ban any more sacrifices, at least until the population started rising again." Kara remarked dryly. Then noticing his expression, she sighed disgustedly. "I was joking!"

Cameron chuckled. "I figured." He said. "Look, right now all we need to do is get to your fleet and help them out. Everything else can wait nill we make sure your people are safe." He glaned down at his watch. "Speaking of which, we better get to the bridge. We should be exiting hyperspace soon, and Sam really doesn't want to get into a shooting war with your battleships."

"Battlestars." She corrected. "Just looked for the run-down one and get me a signal. I'll handle it from there." She turned and walked down towards the bridge, leaving a bemused Cameron to catch up.

Kara entered the bridge, and two sights stopped her immediately. The first was the large bank of windows that looked out over the bow of the ship. The second was the figure standing off to the side in it's own little alcove.

"Welcome to the bridge, Captain Thrace." Carter said, rising from her command chair and turning to face the Colonial officer. "And yes, that is an alien and yes, he is real."

"He?"

"I am Kvasir, Chief Science Officer of the Titan." The Asgard replied. Carter just rolled her eyes.

"Jack really wanted to give him that title. I wonder why?"

"What is he?"

"I am an Asgard." Kvasir replied, somewhat testily. "And I do speak for myself."

"Sorry," Kara replied, chastened somewhat. "It's just- you're my first little grey man."

"And you never forget your first." Pierce quipped. "We're coming up on your fleet in just a few minutes, Captain. Our lovely Cadet Frasier is setting up the communications suite now, so just head towards her dulcet tones. Oh, and watch for needles."

"I heard that, sir!" Frasier called back.

"Okay kids, knock it off." Carter said, then turned back to Kara. "Captain, if you would?"

"Lead the way." She replied as Carter led her over to the Communicatiosn console.

* * *

**Colonial Fleet CAP**

Katrina 'Kat' Williams commanding.

It had been a boring CAP so far, and Kat was looking forward to wrapping it up soon so she could grab a hot shower and some rack time. With a lot of pilots gone on the SAR mission back to Caprica, the squadron had been stretched a little thin, forcing Kat to fly a double shift while the fleet milled around, getting ready for the elections in only two days time. The only notable thing to happen, in fact, was the return of the SAR mission- short by at least five Raprtors, much to their dismay. Dismay had turned to curiosity, and perhaps a bit of fear, when what had happened on their former homeworld had circulated around the fleet.

_Strange ships, laser guns, aliens…please._ Kat thought to herself. _And Starbuck saying she would find another ride home. Of course, knowing her, she'd probably try to steal a Basestar. Fraking Starbuck, always having to show off…_

Her thought s were cut off by a sudden appearance of a massive purple and white energy cloud- from which emerged the strangest fraking ship she'd ever seen. A long bow attached to a fatter, stubbier stern, small engine pods attached to either side of the rear, and some kind of docking bays on top.

What the Frak? She through frantically as she pulled her Viper up and away from the new ship as the cloud disappeared behind it. "Galactica, Kat." She screamed frantically into her mike. "We got an unknown bogey that just jumped into the system…at least, I think it jumped… never seen anything like it! Please advise, repeat please advise! "

**Battlestar Pegasus**

"Report, Lieutenant Hoshi." Commander Lee Adama said as he stepped into the Command Center of the Pegasus. His new XO, the former communications officer, stood on the other side of the DRADIS table looking up at the screen.

"DRADIS picked it up a moment after the CAP called it in. One unknown vessel, bearing 221 carom 197. Definitely NOT Cylon in design."

"Well, let's not take any chances." Lee decided. "Launch the alert Vipers and coordinate our defense efforts with Galactica. Helm, bring us about- I want the forward cannons trained on that vessel yesterday!"

**Battlestar Galactica**

"Where the frak did that come from!"

Colonel Saul Tigh was standing rigidly at the DRADIS table, staring at the screen at the sensor blip that represented the new arrival. "And what the frak is it? Cylon?"

"It doesn't match any known Cylon design, either current or past." Lieutenant Felix Gaeta replied

"Sound general quarters." Admiral William Adam said calmly from his position at the head of the table. He stared up at the screen intently, as if trying to divine the new ships purpose and intentions. "Launch the alert Vipers. Mr. Gaeta, transmit emergency jump coordinates to the rest of the fleet, and have them stand by for emergency jump."

"Aye sir." Felix replied.

"Vipers away and on target" Tigh reported.

"Prepare to engage on my mark.."

"Admiral!" Lieutenant Dualla shouted. "I'm picking up a signal from the vessel. It's pretty garbled, but they are trying to communicate."

"Can you clean it up?"

"I just need a few minutes, sir."

"You've got five, then the fighters are going to engage." Adama replied.

* * *

The mood was tense on the brigdge of the Titan as the bridge crew watched as nearly two dozen of the Colonial's fighters streak towards their ship. 

"Boy, they're coming in awfully fast…" Ramsey noted.

"Anytime, Captain." Pierce said as she subtly adjusted her course to move away from the Pegasus, who was bringing their main guns to bear on the Titan.

"I'm trying, but you guys use different com frequencies than we do!" Kara shot bak. "I'm having a hard time finding our own bands…"

"Kvasir, can you help her out a little?" Carter asked.

"I am attempting to do so." The Asgard replied. "However, I am havng some difficulty. Their systems appear to be vastly inferior to our own."

"Hey, watch who your calling inferior, short stuff!" Kara snarled

"I got it!" Frasier called. "Score one for the med student! Try it now, Captain."

"Galactica, this is Starbuck. Hold fire, repeat- HOLD FIRE!"

* * *

The pandemonium that had reigned before in the Galactica's CIC had quieted tremendously when the transmission finally came over the speakers. 

_Galactica, this is Starbuck. Hold fire, repeat- HOLD FIRE!_

Tigh looked to Adama in shock. "Starbuck? How the frak…"

"She did say she was getting another ride home." He remarked dryly, picking up the thick handset. "Dee, put me through to her." When the Communications officer nodded, Adama spoke. "This is Admiral Adama to the person claiming to be Starbuck. Authenticate your identity now, or we will open fire on you."

There was a brief pause before Starbuck's familiar voice spoke again. _Remember what I told you about Zack, and what I did for him? Remember when I told you, and you told me to get out before you did something I would regret?_

Adama let out a sigh and sagged slightly, partly in relief and partly at the pain that memory caused him. He quickly hid his pain, however- there would be time to grieve again in private. "Welcome home, Starbuck. What do you hear?"

_Nothing but the rain, sir._

"Dee, tell the fighters to break off and fall back to defensive positions. Starbuck, what's your situation?"

_Nearly thirty refuges, along with the remaining SAR team. We were picked up by some soldiers from a ship called the Titan…from Earth._

Once more silence reigned in the CIC before Adama finally found his voice. "What?"

_They say their from Earth, sir. I'm tending to believe them. The commander of the ship would like ot speak with you, sir. Can I put her on?"_

"Go ahead."

There was a brief pause in the transmission, and then another female voice sounded over the CIC's speakers.

_Admiral Adama, this is Colonel Samantha Carter of the United States Air Force Recon Vessel Titan. On behalf of Stargate Command and the Stargate Alliance, we bid you greetings from Earth._

On the Titan, Carter had to pause for a few seconds as shouts of joy were heard over the com station. "I'll take that as a good sign."

Pierce stopped staring in wonder at the Colonial's small fighters long enough to turn and face the Colonel. "Excuse me, sir, but 'We bid you greetings from Earth'? Who were you trying to pull off, Dracula? Might just as well said 'I bid you welcome' in some ghoulish accent."

"Fly the ship, Major." Cart said bluntly.

"Why yessa Miss Daisy, I be flying." Pierce replied as she turned back to her console, causing Ramsey to nearly choke on his restrained laughter. "And by the way, Captain. I _got_ to get one of your fighters."

"Prety cool, huh?" Starbuck replied.

_My apologies for that, Colonel,_ Adama's voice rang out over the intercom, _I don't know if Starbuck explained it to you, but Earth is a pretty big deal for us over here._

"She did explain it, Admiral. And it's quite alright." Carter responded. "Admiral, I've been authorized by my command authority to offer yoru people protection, as well as the food and medical supplies we have in our emergency stores. More will be forthcoming, though."

_We appreciate any and all help you can give us, Colonel._

"Furthermore, I've been authorized to begin talks to bring you and your fleet directly under our protection. We had a small outpost in a nearby system that we can use. With your permission, Myself and our top diplomat will travel over with your people to begin talks at once."

Pierce stiffened in her chair slightly at that even as Adama's voice rang out once more.

_That would be more than acceptable, Colonel. We have the President of the Twelve Colonies on board, she will be the one to negotiate with. We can be prepared to receive you in thrity minutes._

"Very good, Admiral. It will take a couple of trips to get all of your people over; one of our Jumpers was damaged beyond repair during the rescue."

_I look forward to meeting you, Colonel. Starbuck will familiarize you with our landing procedures. If you need anything else, please call._

"Copy that, Admiral. _Titan_ out." Carter switched off the channel and turned to Starbuck. "Captain Thrace, will you please accompany Colonel Sheppard to the Jumper bay and brief him on your landing procedures?"

"Yes, sir." Starbuck replied, giving a stiff salute out of habit that was quickly returned, then headed off the bridge. Carter looked to Mitchell.

"You pack your dress blues, Cam?"

Cameron sighed. "Yes, unfortunately. Dress and Cover?"

"Might as well make a good first impression. Go and change, your coming with me. Major Pierce," Pierce turned to face her CO, "You have command of the ship until I return."

"Very good, Sir."Pierce replied. "Before you go, there's some paperwork I need to go over with you in your ready room."

Carter raised an eyebrow, then gestured for Pierce to follow her. They entered the small office and Pierce sealed the door behind her.

"Paperwork my ass, Elizbeth." Carter said with a slight grin. "What's on your mind?"

"Permission to speak freely?"

"Since when do you ask permission?" at the Major's look, Carter relented. "Alright, fine. Go ahead."

"With all due respect, you shouldn't be going over there."

"Why not?"

"This is a highly charged atmosphere we're flying into, and your life could be in jeopardy if you leave the ship." Pierce replied. "You're the senior officer and commander of this ship, sir. As your XO, it's my duty to point out when it could be to dangerous for you to go on this kind of mission." She paused. "Besides, if Sheppard's flying the Jumper, you might crash and burn before you get there. Then what happens?"

"Funny." Carter replied with a smile. "Look Elizabeth- it's because I'm the senior officer that I need to go. And Sheppard, Mitchell, and even Daniel are good in a fight, if it comes to that. What's more, I'm leaving knowing that my ship is in good hands- you know the ship and its crew, and you'll know what to do if everything goes to hell. Now in," she checked her watch, "twenty five minutes, I'm heading over there to begin talks. And I believe everything will be fine. But if aren't back or you don't hear from us within two hours, then I want you to take this ship, and you come rescue me."

Pierce grinned. "What, and risk my ship?"

"I mean it." Carter replied with a smile as she walked past Pierce and opened the hatch. "I don't want to get left behind."

* * *

Thirty minutes later the Colonial refugees were situated once again in the small hanger deck on the _Titan_. Most stared in awe at the atmospheric force fields that kept the bay pressurized, and at the small forms of the Vipers situated a few klicks off the bow. The rest stared at Kara as she gave out the orders. 

"Anders, you'll ride with me on the first leg," Starbuck said to her boyfriend. "Grab about ten people and start loading them into the Jumper. I'll be riding up front and helping Sheppard to navigate. People, LISTEN UP!" she yelled, drawing the attention of the ones who weren't paying attention, "When we get on board Galactica, stay together! The Marines on board will escort you to your racks- and as soon as we can, we'll start looking for any surviving family or loved ones."

"Commander on deck!"

All military personnel, both Earth and Colonial, stopped and stood at attention as Colonel Carter strode into the bay in her dress blues with Colonel Mitchell right behind her. Carter wore her dress cloth hat, while Cameron had his tucked under his arm. Major Pierce limped in behind them, leaning heavily on her cane.

"Is everyone here and ready?" Carter asked Starbuck, who nodded in affirmative. "Alright then. Major Pierce," she said, turning to face Elizabeth, "You have the con. Take care of my ship."

"Yes ma'am." she replied, throwing a smart salute that was returned a moment later.

"Let's go, Captain Thrace." Carter said, smiling lightly. "Take us to your leader."

The small group climbed into the Jumper and settled themselves in, with Starbuck sitting in the second seat next to Sheppard. Carter and Mitchell sat in the second row, while Daniel and Anders sat in the rear. The refugees settled themselves in the rear hold as the rear hatch rose and closed with a slight hiss.

"Galactica, Starbuck." Kara said into her mic as she adjusted her headset. It was strange to her- the single ear piece fit fine, but the long, thin mic boom felt to fragile to her. She was afraid she'd break the fraking thing. "Do you read, over? "

_Starbuck ,Galactica. We read you five-by-five._

"We're about to leave the _Titan_. What are you orders?"

_Starbuck, the Old Man says to follow your escort vipers to the Port launch bay. You know what to do from there._

"Copy that. See you in a few. Starbuck out." She looked to Sheppard and gave him the thumbs up.

"Sheppard to Titan flight control Permission to depart?" There was nothing but silence on the other end for a full minute. Sheppard sighed and rolled his eyes. "Look, _Lieutenant_ Hailey, it wasn't entirely my fault!"

"Hailey, give the go." Carter ordered, not entirely hiding the smile in her voice.

"Yes, sir." Hailey reluctantly replied. "Jumper 2, you have a go to launch. Have a safe flight, and _try_ to bring this one back in one piece, okay? It's the only one we got left."

"Copy that, control. Jumper 2 out."

Starbuck tuned around to look at Carter. "You know, you have very sarcastic officers." She grinned. "I may have to put in for a transfer to your ship."

Carter shook her head. "I already have one Major Pierce. I don't need another."

"It would piss off Macmillan." Daniel noted.

"On second thought, come on over." Carter decided. "Couldn't hurt."

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking," Sheppard announced over the ships intercom. "Today's flight will be from the _Titan_ to the _Galactica_. We estimate a cruising time of about five minutes with clear skies and smooth flying. For your listening enjoyment I'll be turning on some classic Earth music for you. Don't forget to tip your stewardess, and thank you for flying Air Jumper." Sheppard hit the play button on the CD player he'd had installed on the ship, and Jimi Hendrix's 'All Along The Watchtower' sounded throughout the ship.

"Good song," Daniel noted as Sheppard engaged the ships drive, smoothly lifting off from the flight deck and surging forward through the atmospheric shield

"Always like Hendrix." Sheppard replied, banking the craft towards the ragtag fleet before them. "Next stop, the Battlestar _Galactica_"

On the _Galactica_, Adama stood by the wall phone in the hanger deck with Tigh by his side. Off to the side, the crew was assembling into formation under the guidance of Chief Tyrol, while President Rosalin and, much to both of their dismay, Vice-President Gaius Baltar and Sagitarion representative Tom Zarek stood off to the side. Rosalyn had said their presence wasn't necessary and had nearly gone as far as to ask Adama to order them off the deck, but Baltar was the Vice President, so it made sense to have him here as much as they didn't like it. As for Zarek, he made the point that the civilian government should have a presence at this historic first meeting, and seeing as he was the only Quorum member on the ship and the others would take nearly an hour to get there, he had been elected.

"Dee, patch me through to Kat." Adama order over the phone. There was some clicking, then the familiar washed-out sound of the Vipers helmet mic came over the phone. "Kat, this is Galactica Actuall. Give me a play-by-play."

_Yes, sir. _She replied. _It's fracking weird, sir. I can see into their hanger deck, and there are a bunch of people just milling around._

"Why's that unusual?"

_Because it's open to space, and they aren't wearing EVA suits._

"Could be more advanced than us." Tigh noted.

There was a pause. _I see their shuttle, it's coming- FRAK ME!_

"What is it?" Adama demanded.

_They've got some kind of…energy shield on their bay, keeping it pressurized. I saw it flicker as the shuttle just passed through it- and it went through it like it was nothing!_

Adama looked over to Tigh. "_Way_ more advanced."

_Proceeding with escort. Starbuck, Kat. I'll be your escort to Galactica._

_Kat, Starbuck. Never thought I'd be glad to hear your voice. _

_Yeah, well don't be too happy. I lost a lot of cubits on you, you know._

_Betting that I wouldn't come back?_

_No, betting on how you'd come back. Figured that you'd want to top yourself- I mean you already bagged a Raider and a heavy Raider. Figured you'd try to take an entire Basestar this time._

_I tried, but it blew up. Oh, well. Maybe next time._

"She's joking, right?" Tigh asked Adama, who answered his question with a dry 'it's Starbuck' look. "Yeah, she probably tried…"

* * *

As they passed several of the civilian ships, Carter noted the state of disrepair many of them were in. Absently she noted that they were probably just designed to be short-flight transport ships that docked every couple of months; none of the ships out there were meant to fly for extended periods of time. She turned her attention back to Galactica, studying the beat up, dented and scorched hull of the massive warship. 

"ETA to _Galactica_ is two minutes." Sheppard announced.

"I'll handle communications with _Galactica_ and walk you through the landing procedures. Just follow my lead." Starbuck said.

"What's that ship, over there?" Mitchell asked, pointing towards the massive form of the _Pegasus_.

"That's the _Pegasus_." Starbuck replied. "She's a newer model Battlestar that survived the initial attack. We hooked up with her a few months ago." Kara smirked. "Our old CAG is the commander over there now."

_Starbuck, Galactica. Adjust your course to one-niner, speed one-five-two for hands on approach. Checker's green, call the ball. _

"_Galactica_, Starbuck. Adjusting course to one-niner, speed one-five-two for hands on approach. I have the ball." She turned to Sheppard . "Take her in, nice and easy. About halfway down the bay you'll see the elevator pad marked out. Land your bird there and pull in your engines, and they'll do the rest."

"Roger that." Sheppard replied, lining the Jumper up with the _Galactica's_ bay. Their escort Vipers slowed and flipped around so that thir bows faced the front of the Jumpers, flying in reverse to better guide them to the elevator.

"Now that is cool." Sheppard remarked. Mitchell and Carter nodded. The Jumper entered the bay and slowed as it neared the elevator, it's engine pods slididng back into the hull as it landed softly on the pad. "We have contact. Activating mag-lock."

"Starbuck, _Galactica_. Mag-lock secure. Welcome home."

"Roger that, Captain Kelly. It's good to be home." Starbuck replied, then turned to Sheppard. "Welcom aboard the _Galactica_."

The deck crew stood at attention while a squad of marines the Colonel had brought in stood ready on the top catwalk overlooking the Puddle Jumper. The strange craft was towed off the elevator and into the hangar proper. Tigh eyed the craft with a critical eye.

"Damn funny looking ship, if you ask me." He said quietly to his friend. Adama nodded.

"Apparently it's tougher than it looks, if it survived rescuing our people from Caprica."

"Where's the fraking door?" Tigh growled in agrivation, looking over the sides for the tell-tale signs of a hatch. He was caught off guard, then, when the rear of the ship began to lower. "Whoa."

One by one, the first group of Caprica survivors, led by Kara and Anders, made their way off the ship and into the waiting arms of the medical staff. Kara moved towards the Admiral and gave him a brisk salute, which was quickly returned.

"Found yourself another ride, eh?"

"Green's not my color, but we make do with what we get, sir." She replied glibly, shaking Adama's hand.

"She's gonna be impossible to live with now," Tigh said with a genuine smile as he shook her hand as well. "Damn fine job, Captain."

"Thank you sir."

"Anything we should know about our guests before they come out?" Laura asked. Kara nodded.

"Way more advanced than us technologically. Theogically, we may have some problems."

"Why is that?"

* * *

"This is either going to be really good, or really, really bad." Carter said, placing her hat back on her head as Mitchell did the same. "I want everyone to keep their eye's open. Sheppard, you're on ferry duty. But if you get a hint of trouble, you activate the shield and get back to the _Titan_. Daniel, I know you can handle yourself, but be extra careful here. A lot of the things we're going to say they won't like." 

"Don't worry about me; I'll be fine." The archeologist replied.

Carter nodded. "Alright, let's go."

Carter led the way to the rear of the Jumper, followed by Mitchell and Jackson. She stopped at the top of the ramp and stood at attention, facing the group before her. "Permission to come aboard, Admiral."

Adama stared for a few moments before answering. "Permission granted."

Carter stepped down the ramp and over to the assembled officers, where Starbuck started with the introductions.

"Admiral, may I present Colonels Samantha Carter and Cameron Mitchell of the United States Air Force, and Dr. Daniel Jackson of the SGC." She turend to Carter. "Colonel, this is Admiral Willaim Adama, commander of the Battlestar Galactica and the Colonial fleet; Colonel Saul Tigh, Galactica's Executive Officer; and Laura Rosilyn, president of the Twelve Colonies. Next to her are the Vice-President Gaius Baltar and Tom Zarek, Sagitaron representative of the Quorum of Twelve."

The small group exchanged brief hello's and handshakes before stepping back from one another.

"Colonel, on behalf of the people of the Twelve Coloinies," Laura began, extending her hand, "I would like to say that it is an honor to meet you, and to thank you for assisting our people in rescuing the survivors off of Caprica."

Carter smiled and took the proffered hand, shaking it warmly. "Madame president, the honor is mine."

TBC…

Wow, this ran a little longer than I thought. Coming next chapter- the Colonials get a history lesson, the Earthers get an earful, and the Cylons attack with a vengeance.


	11. Chapter 11: Fight and Flight

**Chapter 11**

**Fight and Flight**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, I'm just borrowing the characters.No profit is being made from this story, save for the satisfaction of reviews.

* * *

**

The group made their way through the massive battleship on an impromptu tour. While the classified sections were kept off the path, Adama did make sure to lead them past the infirmary- still a bit crowded and running low on supplies; and the memorial wall.

"Jesus…"Cam said, looking down the seemingly endless corridor, its wall covered in pictures. "Puts things into perspective, doesn't it?"

"Sad as it is to say, we've seen things like this before." Carter remarked quietly to Mitchell. "Though in most cases, there wasn't any civilization left. That at least made it a bit easier."

"I'm not sure Cassie would agree." Daniel pointed out. Carter swallowed heavily and nodded, then continued walking besides the Admiral.

"How many survivors do you have, Admiral?" Carter asked.

"A little over 50,000." He replied. "Mostly courier ships, a few mining ships and cargo ships. Almost none of them were built for extended tours, and none of them were built for continued FTL jumps. Every single ship out there is in need of repair or refit-this ship especially."

"She looks like she's taken a pounding." Mitchell noted. "Held up pretty good, though."

"Times may change, but thankfully this ships' battle-readiness did not- structurally, at least. She was being decommissioned on the day the attacks occurred; being turned into a museum. What's left of that is still on the starboard flight pod."

"Any chance of seeing it?" Daniel asked.

Tigh shrugged. "We can try, but it's probably a mess. That whole exhibit was opened to space when a Cylon Heavy Raider crashed into it a few months ago."

The group finally made its way to the briefing room. Adama ushered the Earthlings in, and followed with Tigh close behind him Laura stepped through, intending on closing the door on Zarek and Baltar, but the doctor was too quick.

"Thank you, Madame President," Zarek said with his trademark smile as he grasped the door, "But you didn't need to hold the door."

Roslin's smile was forced. "No problem, Mr. Zarek. Always happy to help the Quorum."

Everybody sat down around the u-shaped table- Adama and Tigh took the head, while Carter, Mitchell and Jackson took one end and Roslin, Zarek and Baltar took the other.

"I'm sure you all have many questions, and we'd like to provide you with the answers. But for the moment, let's concentrate on the necessities." Sam started out.

"That will be acceptable." Lara acknowledged. "Right now, my sole concern is the safety of the people in this fleet."

"What are the major concerns right now?"

"Food and medical supplies." Adama replied instantly. He glanced over to the politicians, who nodded in agreement. "Several of our ships are stretched beyond the breaking point. Despite our best efforts, disease is starting to spread through some of the older, dirtier ships." He sighed. "It doesn't help that we only have one fully qualified Doctor in the fleet."

We have a full medical staff on our base," Carter replied, "We can have one of our other ships ferry them here, along with food and medical supplies."

"You have more ships in the area?" Zarek asked.

"We have an outpost a few light-years from here." Carter replied. "A city created by a race of beings we call the Ancients. One of our expedition members is actually a direct descendent of them, and helped us locate it."

"We haven't detected any outpost on our recons." Adama said, frowning. He didn't like the fact that he hadn't even found any trace of these people, if they were so close.

"Well, Avalon- that's the name of the city- is fairly well hidden." Daniel said. "It's on a planet deep inside a nebula…" he paused at the shocked looks on the Colonials' faces, "Which you've already found."

"So you were the ones we detected doing fly-over's near the equatorial belt." Carter exclaimed. "We had wondered…"

"That belt is the only place on the planet that people could survive!" Tigh exclaimed. "So where the-"

"Saul!" Adama barked. Tigh shut up immediately. "There is no way our people missed an entire city on that planet."

"It's cloaked." Carter said, resigning to the fact that she would be giving away some of their secrets early. "The jumper we came in is equipped with a cloaking device- Captain Thrace can verify that. The city, when it was abandoned centuries ago, was cloaked to keep it safe. Our person was able to penetrate the cloak and find the city, which allowed us to start to repopulate it."

Gaius smile in anticipation. "Astounding! You actually have functioning cloaking technology?" he turned to the Admiral. "The Science Council had several theories about cloaking technology, but we never got far enough to even make a prototype."

"Would it be possible to install these devices onto our ships?" Adama asked. "It would make a powerful defense against the Cylons."

"I'm not sure." Carter said. "It takes a tremendous amount of power, and right now we're short on those."

"You don't have more on Earth?"

Sam looked to Cameron, who gave a slight nod. Sam then turned to Daniel and nodded at him.

"The power supplies are only made at our outpost at the moment." Daniel started. "As for Earth…" Daniel trailed off, until he spied a blackboard in a corner of the room. "May I?" he asked, getting up and moving towards the board. He picked up the chalk and drew a large, spiral shape. "This," he started, "Is what we call the Pegasus galaxy. This is where we are right now."

"Don't tell Lee, he already has a big enough head." Tigh murmured to Adama.

"This," Daniel drew and X on a spot near the end of one of the spiral's arms, "Is where your Twelve Colonies were. This," he drew another X, "Is where we are now. This," he drew another X, a little farther down from where he placed the last one, "is where Avalon is. This," he drew another X, farther away and close to the edge of the arm, "Is where our first outpost Atlantis is." He waited a moment to let that sink in. Then he moved down to the far end of the board and drew a larger spiral shape, then placed an X near the end of one of the spirals. "And this is where Earth is."

* * *

Elizabeth Pierce sat back in the commander's chair, her hands steeped in front of her face and a pensive look on her face. She stared out of the forward viewport at the ragtag fleet, her eyes scanning for the danger she felt building up in the back of her mind.

"Captain Ramsey, have shields on standby." She said suddenly. "I want them on in a moment's notice."

"Yes, sir." Ramsey replied immediately. Briefly he glanced over his shoulder at his commander. "Smell somethin', Boss?"

"Just a feeling," Pierce responded. "And my feelings have been pretty on the mark so far." She finished quietly to herself.

* * *

"You expect us to believe this?"

Daniel sighed. "It's the truth. Earth is in another galaxy, which we call the Milky Way."

"So you're telling us that you are so advanced that you can travel between galaxies?" Zarek asked.

"It's complicated," Daniel continued. "Look, from what I've been able to piece together, there was a race of advanced humanoids called the Lanteans. Later on, they came to be known as the Ancients. They designed a system for transportation between planets known as Stargates, and seeded our galaxy with human life. But something happened- a catastrophe, a disease of some sort. So The Ancients left our galaxy in thirteen city-ships, each of which went to a different galaxy throughout the universe. Three city-ships actually made it to the Pegasus galaxy- Atlantis, Avalon, and a third city, whose name has been lost. Eventually the Ancients came into conflict with a race of beings we know as the Wraith, and they were forced to scatter. The third city presumably crashed and was buried for the most part, they sunk Atlantis to the bottom of the ocean to prevent it's capture or destruction by the Wraith, and Avalon was taken to this point," he pointed to the third X on the board, "and was taken off of the Stargate grid in this galaxy to prevent the Wraith from ever finding it. Soon, the Ancients began exploring this part of the galaxy, and discovered an advanced race of beings on a planet you know as Kobol."

"You know of Kobol?" Rosalyn asked. Carter nodded.

"When we arrived in this area of space, we ran across a ship very similar to your _Pegasus_ called the _Atlantia_…"

"The _Atlantia_!" Tigh exclaimed. "She was destroyed in the attacks!"

"She's a wreck," Carter conceded. "There were no survivors, although we did recover several bodies. We're keeping them in Avalon's morgue, until we could arrange a proper burial. The _Atlantia_ is undergoing repairs in our allies' orbital shipyard."

"We also recovered a lot of books, including those that dealt with your history." Daniel continued. "That's how we know about Kobol."

"So you're saying that these Ancients and the Lords of Kobol… what? Fraternized with one another?" Baltar scoffed. "You can't expect us to believe this, that everything we've ever believed about where we cam from is a lie…"

"Never pictured you as the religious type, Mr. Vice-President." Adama said dryly. Baltar glared at the Admiral.

"You think this reaction is bad, wait until the Geminese or the Sagatarians hear this. They will be up in arms!"

"Look, I know this is a lot to take in," Mitchell stated, "A lot of things you thought you knew have been turned upside down, and I know that's going to cause a lot of tension. But right now, all we want to do is help your people…"

Klaxons suddenly blared throughout the ship, and the assembled people looked around in confusion. All except Adama and Tigh, who immediately went to the phone hanging in the wall.

"This is Adama. What's going on?"

"Massive Cylon fleet just jumped into the system, Sir." Gaeta replied. "Two of the Base stars just took out the Earth ship, and they're maneuvering to fire on the rest of the fleet. They're launching Raiders!" he added suddenly.

"Set Condition one throughout the ship." Adama ordered calmly. "All hands to battle stations. Launch the Vipers ASAP."

"Yes, sir!" Gaeta replied, hanging up on his end. Adama turned back to the group."We're under attack from a massive Cylon fleet." He announced. "They're already taken out your vessel, Colonel," he added looking at Carter, "And they're trying for the rest of us. If you want to join us in CIC, follow me."

* * *

Galactica's CIC was a hive of activity when the group arrived."Report!" Adama barked.

"Viper's have been launched, Pegasus has done the same. Civilian ship won't be able to jump for five minutes, though."

"Bring us about, 47 degree down angle on the plane. Maximum cover for the civilians." Tigh shouted and the helm rushed to respond.

"The _Titan_?" Adama asked. Gaeta shook his head.

"As soon as they jumped in, they launched five nukes. By the time the interference cleared, she was gone."

"It'd take more than that to take her out." Cameron said softly. "What do you think- playing possum?"

"She'll come in from behind them." Carter agreed.

_Galactica, Starbuck_. Kara's voice called out over the speaker. _We got a lot of frakking toasters incoming. I suggest you get the civilian's ass' in line and bug them out!_

"Starbuck, Galactica. Roger that." Gaeta replied.

"All Vipers, weapons free."Adama said, studying the DRADIS display. He did not like what he saw. Seven Base stars, and hundreds of Raiders. And all he had was two Battlestars and a couple dozen fighters- not good odds. Adama sighed. This was going to be a long fight…

* * *

Out in space, Kara stared ahead in growing horror as wave after wave of Raiders flew towards her. In the background, seven massive Cylon Base stars maneuvered to launch their missiles at the civilian fleet.

And then two of the ships exploded in a brilliant flash, and inexplicably another ship flew through the tumultuous ball of fire and metal-

The _Titan_.

Kara whooped into her mic as the Earth vessel flew through the fiery remains, her shields flaring with munitions impacts, her own rail guns spitting out their lethal payload into the two nearest Cylon ships. Forward guns cleared the path of raiders, even as other Cylon fighters slammed into the ship's shields, destroying them instantly. The _Titan_ veered off right and continued to fire on the Cylons, turning in space to present its top most guns towards the genocidal robots.

On the _Galactica_, stunned looks and shouts of joy mingled as the _Titan_ appeared once more on the screen, taking out two Base stars at once. Adama looked over at Carter unbelievingly.

"Cloaking device." She said. "Also doubles as a shield, when needed."

_Galactica, this is the Titan. Come back._

"_Titan, Galactica_ Actual." Adama replied. "Good timing."

"Pierce, this is Carter," Sam shouted over the wireless. "What the hell took you so long?"

_Sorry, sir. _Pierce replied. _I forgot I left the oven on; had to go home and turn it off. Decide to start the party without me?_

"Wise-ass."

Pierce chuckled over the wireless. _How long till the civies bug out?_

Gaeta flashed four fingers. "Four minutes." Adama replied.

_Acknowledged._ Pierce said. _Be aware, friendlies are incoming in two minutes._

"Good." Carter said. "Until then, do your best to shield the civilian ships. We'll stay out of the way over here and let the Admiral do what he does best."

_Roger that. I'll coordinate my defense with the Pegasus. Pierce out._

Adama looked over at Carter, then turned to his XO. "Coordinate our defense with the _Pegasus_ as well. And verify jump coordinates with the Civilian fleet. I want them out of here ASAP."

* * *

"All right, people! Clear this deck. I want this bay prepared for incoming in two minutes!" Chief Tyrol stalked though the port bay, yelling at his tech crew as the ship shuddered around him. "Get DC teams into position, and all techs to station!"

"What can I do, Chief?" Colonel Sheppard asked, coming up besides the Colonial soldier. "I don't like standing around doing nothing when I'm under attack, and my Jumper won't do squat out there right now."

Tyrol nodded. "Sure. Help the guys move those crates off to the side, then get ready to help us move the Viper's into their bays once they get back."

"No problem." Sheppard replied, heading towards the flight crew to help them out.

* * *

Sparks flew around the bridge as more missiles impacted the _Titan's_ shields. Crew members rushed around to lock down stations and repair damaged consoles; all while Major Pierce sat calmly in her chair.

"Ramsey, how are the shields holding up?"

"Shields' holding steady at 82 percent." The Captain replied, keeping his eyes on his board. "Remaining enemy vessels are maneuvering to bracket us."

"Cut them off." Pierce replied. "Helm, ahead two-thirds. Inform the _Pegasus_ what we're doing, and keep out of their firing solution. Ramsey, target that third Base Star, fire at will."

"Should I bring the Asgard weapons on-line?" Ramsey asked.

Pierce shook her head. "Not yet. Leave them and the drones as a last resort. No sense giving everything we have away in the first two engagements."

* * *

The fight was fast and furious around the ragtag fleet. The _Pegasus_ and _Galactica_ faced the five remaining Base Stars, their dorsal guns firing continuously at the Cylons, trying to drive them away from the civilian ships. The _Titan_ weaved impossibly in and out of the lie of fire, launching her missiles at one of the Base Stars. Six missiles left their launch tubes; only two got through. But the naquadah-enhanced warhead was unlike anything the Cylons had ever faced, and its explosive power was equal to several nukes. The resulting explosion sent shrapnel into two of the nearest Base Stars, damaging them.

Starbuck flew like a bat out of hell, weaving in and out of her fellow pilots while trailing an elusive Raider. She finally managed to score a hit, and the Raider exploded. Momentarily blinded by the flash, Starbuck didn't see another Raider fly through he debris until it was too late. The Raider's fire sheared off her wing and took out two of her engines; the wounded Viper went into a flat spin. Out of options, Kara ejected, blasting free of the wrecked fighter just before it exploded under her pursuing Raider's fire. She looked on helplessly as the Raider turned and headed straight for her. She closed her eyes, said a quick prayer to the gods and prepared for the inevitable….

A blinding white light flashed before her closed eyelids, and Starbuck felt a tingle through her body, before she suddenly dropped to a hard, metal deck. Starbuck opened her eyes and looked around in shock as she recognized the architecture of an Earth ship, though this one wasn't the _Titan_.

"What the Frack…" she started, pulling herself up from the floor. Sitting in what she recognized as the command chair was a man in his mid thirties clad in one of the earther's Air Force jump suits.

"Welcome aboard the _Odyssey_," the man said. "I'm Colonel Paul Emerson, commander of this ship. Major Pierce just called and asked us to pick you up."

Unable to process what just happened to her, Kara pushed it to the back of her mind and just shrugged her shoulders. "Guess that's two I owe her now."

Colonel Emerson hit a control on the arm of his chair, "Colonel Carter, this is Colonel Emerson. Do you read?"

_Loud and clear, Colonel. Good to see you._

Emerson smiled. "Good to be seen. Colonel Chekov and I though you all could use a hand."

_We do. Civilians will be gone in about two minutes. Launch your fighters to cover them until they do._

"Copy. _Odyssey_ out." Emerson hit the control again. "Colonel Chekov, this is Colonel Emerson. Launch your fighters and cover the civilians."

_We copy, Odyssey._ A voice with a heavy Russian accent answered. _Korolev out._

Both Earth vessels launched their compliment of fighters, which immediately flew into the fray. The 302's bobbed and weaved in between the Vipers, taking out several Raiders in quick succession. Kara marveled at the speed and turning of the new fighters, but automatically noticed that they were flying them as if they were in atmo, instead of taking advantage of the zero-g environment of space like the Vipers did. Soon the Raiders picked up on this, too, and were soon starting to score more kills. Emerson noticed this, too.

"Worthington, target those enemy fighters. Get them before they get any more of out people!"

"Yes, sir!" The British weapon's officer replied, re-tasking the forward rail guns to take out the dwindling Cylon fighters.

* * *

As the Raiders were thinned out, the last of the Civilian ships jumped away. Lee turned to his XO.

"Signal our Vipers to come on home. Helm, prepare to jump the moment our birds are on board."

"Yes, sir!" Hoshi said as he signaled their planes. On the _Galactica_, Adama had just given the same order before turning to their guests.

"I hate to do this, but we can't afford to waste time getting you off the ship. I'm afraid you'll have to come with us." He said plainly, hoping the Earther's wouldn't think they were being kidnapped.

"That's all right." Carter replied. "I'm sure our people will be able to find us in no time."

"I hope so." Adama responded earnestly. "It'd make me feel better.

"The last of our Vipers are on board, hanger bays' are closing." Tigh said, watching the display.

"All hands, get ready to jump!" Adama announced over the 1MC. "Brace yourselves," he added to SG-1, who all braced themselves against the plotting table.

Out in space, the F-302's were mopping up the remaining Raiders when suddenly the _Pegasus_ vanished in a flash of light. A minute later, the _Galactica_ followed, leaving the three Earth ships and their fighters alone. The remaining Base Stars turned their fire onto the Earth ships, whose shields shrugged off the ineffectual blasts as they launched their own missiles. In a few minutes, the remaining Cylon forces, seeing the devastation the Earth ships were causing, jumped out as well.

* * *

On the _Titan_, Pierce watched as the massive Battlestars jumped out. She turned to Cassie. "Cadet, contact Avalon, ask them to track were the Colonial fleet jumped to…"

"No problem" Cassie replied. "Major Chu is on the horn. About fifty ships just jumped into orbit around the planet- including one that matches the configuration of the _Atlantia_."

Pierce smirked. "Excellent. Advise Colonel Emerson that we're jumping back to Avalon."

* * *

The forty-odd ships floated silently in space around the barren planet, the _Pegasus_ standing guard. Suddenly a bright flared, and the _Galactica_ appeared.

In the CIC, Carter and Mitchell were bent over the planning table, fighting a wave of dizziness and nausea. Daniel gave into defeat and had already slumped to the floor.

"That was not fun…" he groaned as Laura knelt down beside him.

"God…. What was that?" Sam asked.

"Hyperlight jump." Adama said calmly. "It takes some getting used to."

"We've been doing it steadily for months, so it doesn't phase us anymore." Tigh added. "You three okay?"

"No." Daniel replied. "Sam?"

"No." she agreed. "Mitchell?"

"I'm fine." Cameron replied, desperately trying not to throw up. A sudden noise caught everyone's attention.

"DRADIS contact!" Gaeta shouted. "Several new contacts…"

"Cylon?" Adama demanded. Gaeta shook his head.

"No, sir. These ships don't match any known configuration…."

_This is the US Air Force vessel Prometheus, trying to reach Colonel Samantha Carter._ Jack's voice suddenly boomed over the 1MC. _Sam? Where the hell are you?_

Carter smiled and shook her head. 'Only Jack,' she thought. Out loud, she merely replied "Present, Sir. I'm here with Admiral Adama of the Colonial fleet, and the Colonial president Laura Roslin."

_Good. That makes things easier. Admiral? This is Brigadier General Jack O'Neil of the United States Air Forces' Stargate Program. On behalf of the Stargate Alliance, on the advice of my officers, we'd like to offer you and your people sanctuary here at Avalon._

Adama let out a slow breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "General, on behalf of the survivors of the Twelve Colonies, we gratefully accept." He paused for a moment. "But you should know that the force the Cylons sent at us a few moments ago was only a small portion of their fleet…"

_Oh, I wouldn't worry about that, _Jack said, the smirk evident in his voice. _They try anything, and they'll quickly find we have a few more surprises in store for them._

"Sir…" Gaeta said, studying his DRADIS screens as they suddenly filled with massive shapes. Out in space, as the Earth vessels jumped back into orbit around the planet, the combined forces of the Asgard and Free Jaffa ships came out of he nebula and took positions screening the civilian fleet.

On board the _Odyssey_, Kara watched in stunned silence as the massive ships took positions around the fleet, facing out towards the rolling clouds of the nebula. Slowly a grin spread across her face.

"Man, those toasters are so fraked…"

TBC...


	12. Chapter 12: A New Dawn

Disclaimer: I own nothing except Pierce and MacMillon. Everything elseis owned by their respectie owners.

A/N: Well, if BSG is back, the so am I!

**Chapter 12**

**A New Dawn**

"Thanks for the ride… again."

Kara sat behind Pierce as the American pilot flew one of the Titan's Jumpers towards the Galactica. The back of the ship was laden down with emergency supplies from several ships, including hers, and several cadets to lug the heavy crates. Next to her in the copilot's char sat General O'Neill , who was eyeing the Colonial battleship with interest.

"Captain, what's with all of the holes in the armor plating on your ship?" O'Neill asked Kara.

"It's an old ship," Kara explained. "The last of her model in service. Before the attacks, she didn't actually see much combat, so the fleet cannibalized her armor when the newer ships needed it."

"Looks like she can still take a beating," the General reasoned. Kara nodded.

"She really can. Took a nuke hit with only moderate damage." A shadow passed over her features. "Lot of lives lost, though. Might have been spared if we had sill had the armor."

O'Neill nodded as Pierce signaled the ship to ask for permission to land. Moments later, the Jumper docked with the ship.

Once again Adama stood with Saul and the President in the hangar, waiting to meet the head of the Earth expedition. Next to them stood Carter, Daniel and Mitchell, who were now mostly recovered from the jump. Sheppard had already taken off in the Titan's other Jumper and headed down to Avalon, where he was contacting Weir on Atlantis for more supplies.

The Earth officers stood up a little straighter as O'Neill's Jumper was towed towards them. The back lowered as it was still moving, and Jack O'Neill jumped out. He turned towards them and gave a mock scowl.

"Daniel!" he barked. "What the hell did you get us into this time? Don't deny it!" he added as Daniel shook his head and rolled his eyes. "I know it was you."

"Hi, Jack." The archeologist replied. "Nice to see you too."

"A simple recon mission, Carter!" he said to Sam, who did her best to hide her grin. "You go, you recon, you come back! How hard is that?"

"It wasn't my fault, sir." Carter said, then grinned impishly. "It was Daniel's."

"Ah-HA! I knew it." Daniel threw up his hands in exasperation, even as Mitchell and Carter tried to hold in their laughter. Some decorum was needed, after all.

Rosalin looked over the Earth General critically, obviously wondering at the sanity of their Earth cousins if they put someone like him in charge. Adam and Tigh, though, did their best to hide their own smiles, knowing that O'Neill was just happy to see his people alive and mostly well.

"General O'Neill," Mitchell interrupted, "This is Admiral Adama, commander of the Colonial fleet." He introduced, pointing out Adama. Jack shook his hand. "Next to him is Colonel Saul Tigh, XO of the Galactica, and President Laura Rosalin of the Twelve Colonies."

"Welcome aboard, General." Adama said as they shook hands.

"Pleasure to be here, Admiral." Jack replied, taking the time to shake Tigh's and Roslin's hands as well. "Colonel. Madam President."

"General, thank you for all of your help." Roslin said. "I can't tell you how much it means…"

"Don't worry about it." O'Neill replied. "I have Avalon's jumpers making rounds of all our ships for supplies, and John told me Atlantis will be sending over several pallets of food and medical supplies in the next hour. For now, we brought some over with us." He tuned to his people. "Carter, you and Pierce see to getting those supplies unloaded. After that, you two go back to the Titan. Mitchell, catch a ride, then head down to Avalon to take over for Sheppard, and tell him to begin prepping the city for incoming."

"Yes, sir." Both officers replied.

"Danny, you're with me. Be diplomatic."

Daniel grinned wryly. "I'll try."

* * *

"Okay, listen up kids," Pierce was saying as Carter, Mitchell and Tigh came around to the rear of the Jumper, "We can't use our transporters to beam the supplies where they are needed, so we're doing this the old fashioned way. Captain Thrace has gone to get us some Marine guards; when they get here, everyone grab a case and follow them… ah," she paused as Kara returned with a small group of Colonial Marines. "Alright, move out, Cadets." After a few moments where the cadets didn't move, Pierce scowled. "Well? This isn't a sight-seeing trip. Grab a case and HAUL ASS!" Both Kara and Carter rolled their eyes, while Saul chuckled appreciatively.

"Now, that's my kind of XO."

"Major Pierce," Carter called, geting her officer'a attention, "May I introduce Colonel Saul Tigh of the Galactica. Colonel Tigh, Major Pierce, my XO."

Pierce offered a salute, which Tigh returned. "Sir."

"Can the sir, you aved our asses back there." Tigh replied. "You threehave to get back to your ship right away?"

"Not immideately. Why?"

Tigh smiled. "Got time for a drink?"

* * *

"Here's where we stand," O'Neill started. He had been given a short tour, and then the group moved into Adama's quarters. He, Daniel, Adama and Rosalyn were sitting and sharing in some of the Admiral's brandy, which O'Neill sipped. "Sheppard is down in Avalon right now powering up the unused parts of t he city and inspecting them. The whole complex is in very good condition, and I estimate we could start moving some of your people down there within a few days time."

"We should start with the sick and injured first," Adama put in. "I'm assuming they could be given better medical care down there than we can give them up here, even with your supplies."

"As soon as I get back, I'll put in the call to Weir and have her start sending over doctors." O'Neill took another sip, noting that the brandy was very good. "This is good stuff."

"One of the few bottles I managed to hid from Saul." Adama said wryly.

"In the meantime, I can start having our engineers looking over your ships and helping with repairs."

"That would be appreciated."

"If I may," Rosalin put in, "and I'm not ungrateful at all for all of your help, believe me. But in my experience , this kind of 'help' isn't a one way street. What would you expect from us in return?"

"Blunt. I appreciate that." O'Neill nodded, then leaned forward. "Look, I know your civilization is in tatters right now, and you don't have much. And I'm not the person who will be making any deals- I'm just here to do the right thing. At the least, I can say we would be very interested in your jump drive technology, as well as your rail-gun designs. But that's just the military man in me talking; I leave that to the professionals." He nodded to Daniel, who took over.

"As soon as I get down to the city, I'll put a call into to the I.O.A. to open negotiations, and we can get details worked out for some kind of lasting alliance. For the moment, though, and until we would be ordered not to, we will protect you and your people."

"After, even." Jack said mildly. At Daniel's raised eyebrow, Jack merely shrugged. "The President likes me."

* * *

The three were silent as Pierce flew back towards the Titan. the three had enjoyed a shot of some of Glactica's finiest moonshine in celelbration of their vocitory and had shot the breeze for a few minutes before boarding the now emptied Jumper. the cadets were staying on the Galactica to help unload supplies and, in Cassandra's case, to help out in the infirmary. Carter eyed her ship speculatively, checking for any obvious signs of damage. She didn't find anything.

"Good ship," she said, then glanced to her second in command. "Good XO."

"Good crew," Pierce countered.

"You all did a good job out there." Carter noted. "How did you know…"

"I didn't," Pierce replied. "It's just- they had been in one section of space for a while. I figured that the Cylon's would be able to locate them. I told Ramsey to keep the shields on standby."

"So when they did show up, you'd be ready." Mitchell reasoned.

"So they jump in and fire, the shields snap on automatically, you take the hits," Carter mapped out verbally. Pierce nodded.

"Then we switched to cloak, and they thought we were destroyed." Pierce finished. "Colonel Sheppard told me about how he did the same thing to Atlantis to fool the Wraith. Figured if it worked once…"

"As I said, good work." Carter reiterated. "When we get back on board, I want to land the ship at the city, and I want a full inspection crew crawling over the hull to make sure everything's still in top condition. While we're doing that, you can help Sheppard power up the remainder of the city and inspect it. Cameron, coordinate our efforts with the Colonial fleet for resupply and any medical needs they have after you talk to Dr. Weir."

* * *

After several hours of preliminary negotiations, O'Niell and Jackson retrned Avalon while the crew of the Galactica began the process of sorting and distributing the newly arrived supplies. Late into relative night, Raptors could bee seen shuttling much needed medical supplies to the ragtag fleet.

While things were starting to settle down on the old Battlestar, Admiral Adama sat with Lee, Laura, Colnel Tigh and Kara in his private quarters to discuss the days events.

"It certainly has been a hell of a day." Lee said, sitting back in his seat with a glass of his father's bourbon. "First you," he gestured to Kara, "show up with people who claim to be from Earth; then they manage to defeat a massive Cylon force with three ships and only a relatively small amount of help from us; and now we've been offered a safe have and a possible road to Earth."

"Eventually." Laura said. "Though I don't think the peole will care too much if we settle on some other planet at this point. Gaius was gaining a lot of ground, pushing for settlement here."

"How is this going to affect the elections?" Adama asked. Laura smiled.

"Baltar's trump card was this planet. Now that we have an open offer to settle here from the Earthers, along with a city in which to settle in- and given the fact that, while he sat in on negotioations, the current President is making all of the decisions…"

"You got the election locked." Tigh said with a relieved sigh. "Thank the gods…."

Adama looked over at Starbuck, who was being more quiet than usual. "Captain, what's your assement of them?"

Kara took a breath to gather her thoughts. "They want to help us. That's the impression I got. They could have let me die out there, but they managed to get me onto their ship- how in the gods they did that, I'm still not sure. And I wasn't the only pilot they resuced, either. On top of that, they have the technology to back up their offer. Theyr' ships can do stuff that I've… they've gpt windows, for Fraks sake! Honest-to-gods windows! And they can afford to have them because of those shields! But you can tell that they only recently made it to space. You can tell the way they fly their fighters- they fly like they're still in atmo. They were starting to get chewed up by the Raiders before their big ships managed to take out a couple of Base Stars. And those sheips only carry a small number of fighters- if the Cylons throw enough Raiders at them, they can overwhelm the shields and take out the carriers- and this si after they decimate their fighter cover."

"We can help them their, Bill." Tigh put in. "We can show them how to really fly. But we need their help."

"I agree." Laura said. "Tomorrow, the Admiral, Captain Thrace and myself will be taking a tour of their city. IF we decide it's viable, we'll see about starting to land some of our ships and get the people settled into quarters. If not, well… we'll take it from there.

* * *

The next morning, Major Pierce flew General O'Neill and Dr. Jackson back to the Galactica. They were greeted on the flight deck by Starbuck, Adama and Roslin, and exchanged brief pleasantries.

"If you don't mind, we'd like to take one of our craft down." Adama stated with a slight smile. "Colonel Tigh insists."

O'Neill glanced at Daniel and Pierce, who both shrugged. "Fine by me." He said finally. "Lead the way."

The small group piled into a nearby Raptor that the Chief just finished inspecting. He handed a clipboard to Starbuck, who signed it absently.

"All systems good to go, Captain." He said, slightly nervous in the presence of the Earthers. Now that things had calmed down, the reality of the situation was beginning to take hold. "Good flight."

"Thanks, Chief." Starbuck said, handing the clipboard back to him as she climbed on board. Adama was next, and gave Laura a hand up. "Oy…" O'Neill groaned as he hauled himself up onto the small wing of the craft, his knees screaming in protest. Daniel was next, and turned to Pierce.

"Need a hand?" he asked. Pierce smiled tightly.

"No, thank you." She replied. She turned around and hauled herself up until she was seated on the wing, then swung her legs around and slowly clambered to her feet. Her bad knee was shaky, but thankfully didn't give out. She climbed into the craft, and the door began to lower.

"Hawkeye, saved you a seat up here!" Starbuck called. Pierce made her way to the second chair and collapsed into it, then began fumbling with the harness. She sighed in relief as she saw it was a standard 5 point flight harness.

"This time, you tell me how to land." Starbuck said as she powered the craft up.

"Uh… you sure that's a good idea?" Daniel asked from the back. Pierce shot him a withering glance.

"One bad landing, and they all get on your case." She grumbled.

The small craft was towed to the nearest elevator, and soon was on the long flight deck of the Galactica. Starbuck easily powered up the twin engines and accelerated out of the pod, banking towards the planet below. It was quite a sight before her- the nearly 40 ships full of Colonial survivors, flanked on all sides by massive Earth and Alien warships. It comforted her to know that those ships were facing away from the fleet- a gestured intended to show that they were not under imminent threat by their new allies.

"Bank ninety, accelerate for entry." Pierce said, checking their position using her Mark-1 eyeball. She pointed at the southern continent of the planet, clearly visible to them now. "Thataway."

Starbuck shot her a sideways glance. "That's your idea of directing me in?"

"You wanna pull over at the nearest gas station instead?"

As the pilots continued their good-natured bickering, Daniel was explaining how they had found the city to Laura and Adama.

"We learned a lot more about the Ancients during this search, more at one time than we have in a long time." He threw a quick glance at Jack, who merely rolled his eyes. "It was really quite fascinating…"

"So these Ancient had powers, but where not gods." Laura tried to clarify. "How is that possible?"

"Evolution." Daniel replied. "The Lanteans were around for hundreds of thousands of years. They evolved, much like we did. The Asgard believe that one day we will achieve the same level of evolution as they did, as a matter of fact."

"But how do you know that they weren't gods?" Laura pressed. Jack sighed.

"Because I had the knowledge of the Ancients downloaded into my brian a couple of times, and the second time I had an ability to heal mortal wounds with a touch. But since I hadn't 'evolved' enough," he emphasized, using his fingers as quotation marks, "it nearly killed me. Both times the Asgard had to save my butt."

Laura sighed. "This may end up being the biggest sticking point of this whole affair. We have two very religious groups in our government, and I've already begun to hear rumbles."

"Well, tell them if they don't like it, they're more than welcome to go at it on their own!" Jack said mildly, drawing an amused glance from Adama.

"I've been tempted to do that…"

"You DID do that." Laura pointed out.

As Starbuck headed in the general direction of Avalon, she noticed Pierce's silence. She glanced over to see her gritting her teeth. "Are you okay?"

"Knee." She replied simply. She gave her fellow pilot a wan smile. "Forgot how much the Jumpers damp this down." She looked forward and smiled. "There she is."

Starbuck's eye snapped back to from, and she gasped. Sitting before them was the massive Alterean city of Avalon, its tall spire rising majestically into the morning sky. Rosalin and Adama moved to get a glance, and both gasped at the sight.

"Frak me." Laura breathed, drawing surprised, yet amused glances from the other two Colonials.

"Make for that large, open dome on the east side of the city. That's the shipyard," Pierce explained. "You can land in there."

Starbuck nodded and maneuvered the small craft between the spires, doing her best to keep her eyes up front instead of staring all around her. _It was almost like being back on Caprica,_ she thought, _minus the radiation and roaming Cylon death patrols. _

Starbuck banked the Raptor and engaged the VTOL thrusters, gently lowering the craft through the open ceiling of the Shipyard and landing gently on a small, raised pad normally reserved for the Jumpers.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Avalon."

* * *

The group took an almost leisurely tour through the city, stopping in several of the large skyscraper towers that dotted the city and checking out the accommodations to make sure they were livable.

"Colonel Sheppard had been opening up the city, and has a basic layout for us," Jack was explaining as they made their way to the central spire which housed gate control. There are several areas in each tower with large rooms and large, open areas. Once your people get settled, they can open shops to try and get yoru economy started again."

"That would be great, but we'll need to coordinate security for that." Adama replied. "We have an extensive black market operating, and they wont be to happy with that."

"How much of the city would you be willing to turn over to us?" Rosalin asked.

"I would figure on about two-thirds." O'Neill replied. "There will be areas that are off-limits to all but authorized persons like central power station, the control room, and several key labs throughout the city. I figure we can share the shipyard."

They came to the door of the control room, and it slid open at a wave of Pierces hand. The group walked in, and the Colonials looked around with interest. They were on the an opened, lower level that was dominated by a large, round ring set into the floor at the far end. To their right were steps the led up to what was undoubtedly the control center itself, which was enclosed in a clear material of some sort- Adama very much doubted it was regular glass.

Starbuck was eyeing the ring with interest. "Excuse me," she interrupted, pointing at it, "But exactly what-" she was cut off as the symbols in the inner circle of the ring suddenly flashed to life and a loud hum, pierced by bursts of sound, began emanating from it.

"Incoming wormhole!" Sgt. Harriman called out, and suddenly the Stargate blossomed to life, a large pillar of pure, destructive energy shooting 6 feet out of the center, before snapping back inward. As it disappeared, it left behind a gently rippling pool of azure energy that was quickly enclosed in an energy shield, and the Colonials gasped in shock.

"What the frak.." Starbuck started, but was quickly silenced as the Sergeants' voice called out. "Receiving IDC- IT's Dr. Weir."

"Let her through." O'Neill called out, and the shield was dropped. A lone female figure stepped out of the pool of energy, which lingered for only a moment before vanishing into nothingness. Dr. Weir looked at the group and gave a warm smile.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Elizabeth Weir," She calmly strode over to Laura and held out her hand. The Colonial president took it tentatively and shook it. "I'm the Chief Administrator of Atlantis, Avalon's sister city."

"And what is that?" Laura asked, nodding at the gate.

"That's the Stargate, and it's one of those things we'll need to fill you in on." Daniel replied, nodding at Elizabeth in greetings. "Why don't we head up to the conference room? This may take a while."

As Daniel led the Colonials up the stairs to the conference room, Elizabeth said a quick hello to Pierce, then turned to O'Neill. "General O'Neill. I come with news." She said, the smile leaving her face. "And it's not particularly good."

"Oy.." Jack grumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "All right, hit me."

"General MacMillan has resigned from the Air Force."

"And that's bad news?" Pierce asked. "Heck, maybe know I can actually get a promotion…."

"Major…" Jack growled, and Pierce wisely shut up. Jack looked back to Wier. "Why?"

"Because he was offered a better job." Elizabeth sighed. "William MacMillan is now the head of the I.O.A.- and our immediate boss."

**TBC**

* * *


	13. Chapter 13: Back to the SGC

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing!

Except Pierce. And most of the crew of the Titan.

**A/N:** Special thanks to my beta Daniel Haire who not only beta'd this chapter, but also gave me a lesson in military protocol where it applies to Macmillan.

**Chapter 13 **

**Back to the SGC**

"How the HELL did this happen?" an irate Jack O'Neill growled. He was sitting in Avalon Control's conference room with SG-1, Dr. Weir, and the Colonial delegation.

Elizabeth folded her hand on top of the table. "After his last stunt with Major Pierce, several other female officers came forward. President Hayes had all the ammunition he needed to call for his resignation. Until the paperwork clears he's been placed on the inactive list. But for the most part, he's a civilian now."

"So how did he end up the head of the IOA?" Daniel asked.

"Still had friends in high places, obviously." Mitchell reasoned. Elizabeth nodded her head.

"Exactly."

"So how does this affect us?" Rosalin asked. Elizabeth looked to the Colonial President.

"When it first started, the Stargate program was funded and run by the United States Military, specifically the Air Force." Weir explained. "But there came a time when enough strange things had happened that we had to make the other major powers of Earth aware of the Stargate's existence. Once that happened, the rest of the world powers were steadfastly against such a piece of technology solely being in the hands of the United States military, so a civilian agency was developed to verse the program- that is the I.O.A. They control funding, sign off on missions- everything. Without the I.O.A.'s approval, we wouldn't be here right now."

"General William MacMillan was a man who knew all the right people. That's how he rose through the ranks, and how he kept himself out of trouble. I'm sure if Major Pierce were in here, she would tell you that he made a secondary career out of derailing hers- and I'm not sure she would be wrong. But even though he was finally forced to resign, he still has friends in high places- which is how he got the top job. HE managed to convince the IOA that they should have someone involved with a military background, but who wasn't a part of the institution anymore. And he got the job."

Elizabeth sat back in her chair, still regarding the President. "He has a keen interest in this city, though with Pierce in control, I don't know how far he'll get. But once reports came back about you and your technology- it's piqued his interest. Especially your faster-than-light drives."

"Did he stop to consider we'd be happy to share?" Adama asked.

"He feels it would be easier to take than to have to give something back." Weir replied. "The reports state that your hyperdrives- or FTL drives, as you call them- are in your smaller scout ships, and that the Cylon's have them installed into their fighters. Our own fighters were designed to carry a hyperdrive generator, but it never quite worked. MacMillan thinks that, with your hyperdrives, the US could have the pinnacle of an air superiority fighter."

"But wouldn't he need to share the design with the other countries?" Rosalin asked. Weir shook her head.

"He wouldn't. He'd probably intercept the designs and give them to the Air Force. Or sell them to the highest bidder."

Rosalin slumped. "So that's it, then? There's nothing we can do?"

Jack smirked. "Oh, there is one thing. " Everyone looked curiously at the General, who leaned forward. "So, you wanna go on a field trip?"

* * *

"Jack, this is a bad idea."

O'Neill sighed at the archeologist from behind his desk in Avalon's command center. "So bypassing the IOA to negotiate directly with the President and other fellow participating governments is a bad this?" he asked archly. Daniel shook his head.

"No, it's a good thing." He replied. "But we shouldn't be bringing them to Earth!"

"And why not?"

"Well," Daniel started, "First off this is close to a religious experience to them, and they may end up getting so overwhelmed as to put themselves in a bad bargaining position. Secondly," he continued, "these people were about to hold an election for a new leader. Letting Rosalin go through now will make her unbeatable, and we will have influenced this election, which is against our mandate."

"The timing is bad," O'Neill conceded. "But there's nothing to be done about that. MacMillan will be here in the next few days, possibly sooner. This needs to happen now."

Daniel rubbed his face."Fine, I see your point," he said at length. "But I still don't like it."

"Neither do I." Jack confided in his friend, "Neither do I."

* * *

"With all due respect Bill, are you out of your fraking mind?"

Saul Tigh was seated with Apollo in Adama's spacious quarters as he told them what General O'Neill had proposed- and what they had agreed to. "You want to walk through that…that thing, scramble your molecules all to hell, and hope you actually end up on Earth, and not in some kind of prison camp? You AND the President?"

"From what we've been told, Macmillan would regard us little more than a source of new technology, barely worth keeping around. By doing it this way, we bypass their chain of command and go straight to the top, where we can hopefully bargain for settlement on Earth. Or at least a new planet of our own."

"And what about the rest of the fleet?" Lee asked. "While you two are on your 'field trip', who leads and protects them?"

"The Quorum will lead, and you will protect." Adama said looking at his son. "I'm placing Saul in command temporarily of the Galactica, but I'm putting you in charge of the fleet. No offense Saul," he said, turning to his old friend, "but there are still hard feelings out there from the last time you took control of the fleet."

Tigh spread his arms in a show of submission. "I have no problem with Lee taking command. I just have a problem with two of our most senior officials walking through a vertical swimming pool!"

"I'm taking Kara, too. As well as a security contingent." Adama said. "We'll be fine."

"From your mouth to the gods' ears." Lee muttered, sipping his drink.

* * *

"Can I tell him to kiss my ass, Sir?"

"No, Major."

"Can I tell him to bite me, sir?"

"NO, Major."

"Can I kick him in the ba-"

"MAJOR!" O'Neill growled, and Pierce immediately shut up, though a small grin remained on her face. "When Macmillan comes, just tell him he missed us, okay? Nothing else, and nothing violent." Jack sighed. "Remember, he controls our budget."

"Yeah, but I control this city." She grinned cheekily as the Colonials made their way into the gate room.

"Just… behave yourself." Jack said. Piece gave him a crisp salute, which he returned.

"Yes, Sir."

"Dismissed." He shook his head as she made her way up into the control room, stopping to say hello to Starbuck and salute the Adama and Rosalin. Laura nodded, and Adama returned the salute. The Admiral then made his way to where Jack was standing and eyed the Stargate warily. Jack noticed the look and smiled.

"Don't worry, it's completely harmless. I've traveled through it myself hundreds of times."

"And it will take us directly to Earth?" he asked. Jack shook his head.

"Actually, this one will take us to Atlantis. Atlantis, you see, is the only Stargate in this galaxy that can dial Earth." He explained. "So we gate there, then turn around and gate to Earth. We'll be there in half an hour, tops." Adama's eyebrows rose at that assessment. "Now, I should warn you. You won't actually get to see much of Earth. The SGC is underground, and that's where all our leaders will be. We probably won't have a chance to go topside, but I'll see what I can do." He looked to the rest of the group. "Is everybody ready?" at their nods, he looked up to the control room. "Walter, dial it up!"

Master Sergeant Harriman dialed up the gate, and the lighted symbols flashed rapidly as the chevrons locked one by one. The seventh one locked, and the gate activated with a loud swoosh and brilliant burst of energy. The wormhole stabilized, leaving the smooth, blue surface of the event horizon behind. The Colonials looked on uncertainly as Jack approached the device. He looked behind at them and gave them a confident smile. "Just like walking into the next room, I promise." With that, he walked through the gate. He was followed by Colonel Mitchell, and then Daniel gestured to Adama.

Adama approached the device, then after a moment of studying the device, walked through. Rosalin followed him a step behind. Kara got to the gate and paused, looking at it uncertainly. Daniel moved up beside her and smiled.

"Don't worry. It's completely painless." He said, and then stepped through. Kara took one more look behind her, then steeled her nerves and stepped through.

The universe seemed to stretch and bend around Starbuck as she passed through the event horizon. She had a brief feeling of movement, cloud have sworn she saw stars passing her by faster than she could identify them. And then, as suddenly as the sensations started they stopped as she stepped through the other side of the event horizon just like, as General O'Neill had said, she had walked into another room.

She continued moving forward so the Marine guard would have room even as she looked around. It was nearly identical to the gate room she was just in, down to the color or the floor tiles; only some battle damage on the walls and the sunlight filtering in through the windows at a different angle showed it to be a different place all together. She took in the uniforms, and saw unlike the Avalon expedition, most of these people held themselves like civilians. Indeed, the uniforms themselves were less military-like, gray jackets with large watches of color on the front, and each different color seemed to demote a different role. Dr. Weir, who had come through the gate last as it deactivated, wore red on her jacket, so that meant command; the people up in the control room almost all wore yellow, so she figured them for ops technicians; and a few she had identified as scientists wore blue.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Atlantis." Weir was saying. "On your way back, I'd love to give you a tour, but for now-"

"Incoming wormhole!" the gate tech cried out as the chevrons started lighting up. They automatically activated the gate's force field, containing the event horizon as it formed. Weir looked up at the control room.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"Receiving an IDC, it's the SGC." He replied. "Receiving a message- Ma'am, Mr. Macmillan is demanding entrance and immediate clearance to depart for Avalon."

"Damn, he's faster than I thought." Jack muttered. Weir immediately rushed to the Colonials and started leading them up the stairs towards the balcony. "Greg, stall for a minute. Tell them we're having problems with our iris control, but we'll clear it up in a moment. Madame President, Admiral, if you and your party can wait out here, we'll get Macmillan out of here at once so you can continue to Earth." She waved her hand over the door control and it slid openly silently, revealing the breathtaking view of the ocean around them. The Colonials stepped out, awestruck at the sight before them, along worth O'Neill, Mitchell, and Daniel. Weir walked back into the gateroom, and the door slid shut just as the force field was finally deactivated.

Rosalin looked around at the ocean view, a site that nearly brought tears to her eyes. Earth had always been a hope, of course, but merely a fools hope. Deep in the back of her mind, she had convinced herself that she would never see the ocean again, or feel a breeze on her face; she was resigned to dying in Colonial One, or in another ship in the fleet, having never set foot on solid ground again. So to be here, on a balcony overlooking an ocean, just minutes away from actually stepping foot on Earth…

She was ecstatic. And deathly afraid this was all a dream, and that soon she would wake up to the blaring alarms calling out a Cylon attack…

"It's not a dream, Madam President." Daniel said, coming up beside her. "This is as real as it gets."

Inside the gate room, Dr. Weir came down the stairs just as a flustered Macmillan came through the gate. He looked back at the device in distaste, then looked towards Weir.

"System problems, Doctor?" he asked, disdain dripping from his voice. "You can't keep your house in order; I'll find someone who can."

"Of course you would, Bill." She replied, stressing his first name. "Now, if you don't mind, I have a house to attend to, and no time to entertain guests. Greg, kindly dial Avalon for Bill so he can be on his way."

Greg looked at her surprised for a moment, before following the order. It was unusual to hear Dr. Weir be so short with anyone; a consummate diplomat, she had managed to talk her way out of some very tight situations in Pegasus by keeping a level head and a civil tongue. For her to be so…brusque, with the head of the IOA of all people…

The wormhole flared to life. "Connection established. Transmitting IDC… they're confirming. You are clear to proceed, Mr. Macmillan."

MacMillan scowled, then turned on his heels and walked back through the gate, which shut down immediately. Weir let out a breath, then headed for the balcony again. "Greg, dial Earth, and tell them that we have some very important visitors coming to speak with the assembled leaders." She called out.

The second trip through the gate was easier for the Colonials, though they were taken aback by the view as they arrived. It was a grey, cement bunker; the only colors were the painted lines on the floor obviously meant to help guide personnel so they wouldn't get lost.

"Welcome to Stargate Command," O'Neill was saying as they walked down the metal ramp. "Sure, it's a bit less…opulent, shall we say, than Atlantis or Avalon, but it gets the job done. Right now, you are several miles underground at the Cheyenne Mountain military complex. We hope you enjoy your stay. This way to the bar…" he trailed off as he led them out of the main room and down a corridor towards an elevator. "The council is meeting a couple of levels up. Let's go say hi, shall we?"

* * *

Macmillan scowled as the first person he saw walking through the gate into Avalon was his least favorite officer.

"Major Pierce."

"Billy." Macmillan's scowl deepened as Pierce smirked. "No more salutes for you, and I'm wearing my steel-toed boots. It's a happy day in the Pierce household…"

"I don't have time for insignificant peons such as yourself." He said imperiously. "Where is General O'Neill?"

Pierce shrugged her shoulders. "Around."

"Will you go get him?" he ground out, patience wearing thing.

"I can't do anything for you, unless you say the magic word." Pierce was openly grinning now.

"Listen you arrogant bitch…" Macmillan exploded, stalking towards her. Then suddenly the lights dimmed, and several hidden cannon unfolded from secret compartments in the walls, all pointing towards the gate- and Macmillan. Pierce's eyes narrowed.

"You best watch yourself here, Billy." She said in a cold voice. "You're not in the Air Force anymore, not in the SGC…hell, you're not even in the same galaxy anymore. In this city, I run the show, not you, not the IOA, and if you try me one more time, I swear to god you will never-"

"Major Pierce!"

Pierce snapped to attention as Colonel Carter came into the room. She scowled at the younger officer. "Stand down, immediately. And put those," she pointed at the guns, "away. NOW."

"Yes, sir." She replied at once. The lights brightened back to normal instantly, and the cannons replaced themselves into their hidden compartments, which disappeared once more." Pierce stepped back and gave the floor to Carter. "Mr. Macmillan, what can I do for you?"

"Where," he ground out angrily, "is General O'Neill?"

"He's on a mission." She replied at once. Macmillan was taken aback.

"Surely he was notified that I'd be arriving soon?" he asked. Carter nodded.

"He was. That's why he took the mission." Pierce stifled a laugh as MacMillan's face went red.

"Well," he said after a moment, "He doesn't need to be here. Colonel, I need a meeting with the Colonial representatives."

"They aren't here right now, Sir." Carter replied, Macmillan's jaw dropped for a moment before he composed himself.

"And where did they go?"

"They had an impromptu meeting arranged with the President."

"The President of what?" Macmillan demanded.

"Of the United States, numb nuts." Pierce drawled, kicking her foot up slightly.

"With General O'Neill," Carter added. "That was the mission."

"You just missed him." Pierce finished gleefully.

MacMillan's face turned a magnificent shad of puce. "Dial Atlantis. NOW!" he roared. Carter nodded, then turned to Walter. "Master Sergeant, dial it up." The gate's symbols flashed and the chevrons lighted, until the wormhole finally established. "We have a connection. Transmitting IDC," Walter said over the mic, then turned to his console. Quietly, he sent a message to Weir stating that Macmillan was coming back. She replied almost at once, and Harriman had to hide his smile. "Sir, Atlantis is reporting she's still having problems with her gate force field. It's stuck on. Dr. McKay is working on it right now."

Carter smiled blandly at the IOA leader. "I'm sure it will only be a few minutes." She said. "After all, Rodney is one of the best."

* * *

The group came to a door guarded by two Marines, whom came to attention at the sight of the General.

"Here we are," Jack announced, pausing outside the door. He turned back to the President. "Your guard will have to wait out here. I'll announce you, and then you're on. Once Macmillan finds out you're here, he'll try to get back fast, but my people will hold him up as long as possible. He shouldn't be a factor in these talks at all." With a final smile, he turned and knocked on the door before entering.

Adama turned to his best pilot. "Starbuck, you and our Marines stand ready. I don't think they'll try anything; but when Macmillan comes, try to hold him off a little bit longer."

Kara nodded. "Yes, sir."

He heard their names benign announce, and tuned back to Rosalin. "Time to go, Madame President." She nodded, and the two entered the conference room.

* * *

Macmillan tapped his foot impatiently. It had been ten minutes, and the Gate still wasn't clear. Suddenly Walter spoke from the control room.

"Atlantis is signaling the force field is down. All systems are functioning nominally."

"Finally." Macmillan growled as he headed into the gate- and bounced back as its own force field sprung suddenly to life. "What the hell!"

Pierce smirked at Carter's raised eyebrow. "Damn. Looks like we got that bug now." She sighed theatrically. "Guess we should fix it…"

The two walked calmly up to the control room, heedless of Macmillan's impotent rage.

It was nearly forty-five minutes later when William Macmillan finally arrived in the SGC. He asked the first officer he saw where O'Neill and his contingent were, then hurriedly made his way up to the conference room. He was hurrying down the corridor when he saw a blond in a blue dress uniform, though not an Air Force uniform, step out in front of him. Behind her were two soldiers in black tactical gear, beyond them were two US Marines. The blonde held out her hand.

"I'm sorry, sir. I can't allow you to pass without seeing some credentials…"

"Out of the way, sweetheart." MacMillan sneered. "You're dealing with someone well above your pay grade."

Starbuck smiled sweetly, then as MacMillan foolishly reached out to push her aside, she lashed out, grabbing his arm and twisting it behind his back even as she propelled him face-forward into the nearest wall.

"And you're dealing with someone who won't let some stranger enter a meeting full of high government officials, two of whom are my bosses." Kara hissed. "And for the record, I've got more time flying combat in the last 3 months than you probably ever did your entire career. So take your male chauvinist crap and shove it up your ass, or disrespect me again and that's where I'll shove my service pistol before pulling the trigger." She let go of his arm and took half a step back, drawing her pistol and pointing it directly at his head. "Arms on the wall! Feet spread. NOW!" she screamed. The two Colonial Marines both brought their weapons to bear; the US Marines kept their weapons ready, but pointed down; for all they knew, this could be an impostor with a weapon, best they check to make sure.

Starbuck briskly patted Macmillan down, satisfying herself that he wasn't carrying any weapons. Finding nothing, she nodded, and the two Colonials lowered their weapons. She pulled out his ID from his coat pocket and looked it over. "William MacMillan, IOA. Stargate oversight, right?" he nodded stiffly. "Fine. Here' you go," she shoved the ID back into his pocket. "Go ahead, then. You're clear." Starbuck said, stepping back. Macmillan glared at her.

"Thank you." He ground out, brushing past her and entering the conference room. Inside, all actions stopped as the heads of the United States, Russia, France, China, Germany and Japan – along with General's O'Neill and Landry, Colonel Mitchell, and President Rosalin and Admiral Adama. President Hayes looked up at Macmillan, a neutral look on his face.

"Can we help you, Mister MacMillan?" he asked.

"Mr. President," MacMillan started, "My apologies for the interruption, but as head of the IOA, I believe it's my duty to negotiate with any new races…"

"It's in the IOA's mandate that a qualified negotiator take part in the talks- which Dr. Jackson most certainly is." He nodded at Daniel, who nodded respectfully back. "As for the IOA's interests, I believe that since every person here had a hand in creating that agency, its interests will be well taken care of. Now, if you don't mind, we were in the middle of negotiating for their jump drives. If you'd like a meeting, call my secretary." He motioned to the door. Macmillan nodded stiffly, then turned and left. President Hayes smiled and turned back to President Rosalin. "Now, where were we?"

* * *

"Incoming wormhole!" Master Sergeant Harriman announced, and sure enough the Stargate activated. "It's Atlantis for you, Colonel Carter. Dr. Weir."

"Put her on." Carter said, then smiled as Weir's face appeared on the screen. "Dr. Weir, have you heard anything from Earth?"

"That's why I'm calling, Colonel." Weir replied. "President Hayes kicked Macmillan out when he arrived, but all in all the talks were promising. They've worked out a tentative agreement with the Colonial leadership- we'll provide temporary housing for their population in Avalon, and help them resettle on a planet of their choice. In return, we'll get their jump drives and learn about their armor."

"We'll make sure the city is ready when they are." Carter said. "When are they due back?"

"In a few hours." Weir replied, smiling. "General O'Neill managed to pull a few strings…"

* * *

Somewhat hesitantly, Kara Thrace stepped out into the frigid night air of Colorado. Awestruck she took in the view- outside of the high fence topped with barb wire and the concrete tunnel that led to NORAD, there stood the tall pine trees, the massive mountain landscapes, the clear, dark skies of North America at night. There were no clouds in th4e sky tonight, the moon shone brightly and the stars were clearly visible. It was those stars that Kara was looking at now as Bill Adama and Laura Rosalin came to stand next to her. Adama, along with Kara and the two Marines, were now dressed in borrowed civilian clothes; Roslin's clothes were close enough to Earth style that she could get away with going into the town without changing. O'Neill had arranged to take the visitors to dinner at O'Malley's- after giving his word about not starting any fights in the restaurant again, and now the five Colonials stood outside with Jack, Daniel, Mitchell and Landry as they waited for the cars that would take them down to the town.

"The stars, sir." Kara said breathlessly. "They're the same as they were in the tomb."

"This is really it, then." Rosalin said. "Earth."

"What do we do now, sir?" One of the Marines asked, overwhelmed. Adama looked at the young man and smiled.

"Tomorrow, you tell your friends that you were one of the first to step foot on Earth." He said. "Tonight," he glanced over at O'Neill, who was talking with Daniel, "Tonight, we eat well."

**TBC…**

* * *


	14. Chapter 14: Election Day Disasters

**Disclaimer:**_ See Chapter 1_

**Chapter 14**

**Election Day Disasters**

**Soundtrack: Entering the House/Dark Phoenix's Tragedy/Farewell to X (X-Men: The Last Stand score)**

* * *

**A/N:** Hly crap, could it be? The next, long awaited chapter? Well it sure is, true believers! And because you wanted it, because you asked for it, because you DEMANDED it- it's coming to you live, right off the presses, completely un-betad. In fact, I haven't spoken to my beta in so long, I hope he's still ok! I've been on a Stargate kick over the past few days, and I'm a bit ahead on chapters in my New Jedi Order. I full intend to start the next chapter immediately, though that chapter I will send to my beta first.

* * *

It was near midnight on the Prometheus, and Captain Chu was currently in the center seat. Despite being an eventful few days, for the Prometheus it had been downright boring. They had been relegated to stay in orbit of Avalon when the Korolev and Odyssey had entered the engagement with he Cylons and its crew had relatively little contact with their new charges. And while Chu was proud that she had been placed on the Flagship of the Earth fleet, and was proud of the elevated status her home country received because of it, she couldn't help but miss her brief posting on the Titan. After all, that ship seemed to get all of the action.

A soft beeping got her attention, and she looked down at the weapon officer's board. She frowned, and was about to ask the officer to check when he started doing that automatically.

"What do you have, Lieutenant?" she asked, stepping down from the big chair.

"Radiological alarm." The young Lieutenant replied. "It looks like a nuclear warhead ramping up for detonation. Estimated time- forty-five seconds."

"Shields up!" she demanded. "Where is that coming from?"

"A civilian ship. Passenger liner, listed as the Cloud Nine."

"Can we get a lock on the weapon and beam it out?" she asked.

"No, Sir. Asgard safety measures are still in place…"

Chu cursed in Mandarin. "Contact the Asgard, ask them to beam the weapon out of there!" The communications officer complied, and less than ten seconds later a bright light was sited appearing far into the nebulas' cloud. Moments later, it expanded into a brilliant flash of light as the nuclear weapon exploded.

"That was close." The captain said. She turned to the weapons officer. "Lieutenant, begin scans of the rest of the fleet. I want to know if there are any more nukes out there." She turned back to the communications officer. "Contact Galactica and Pegasus, let them know…"

"They're on the horn now, sir." Chu nodded.

"Put them on speaker." She said. After a moment, she spoke. "Commander Adama, Colonel Tigh, this is Captain Chu on the Prometheus. Can you read me?"

"We read you; now what the Frak is going on!" Tigh demanded.

"We read a nuclear detonation, Captain." Lee stated.

"Our sensors picked up a radiological signature in one of your civilian ships and determined it to be a weapon. The Asgard were able to remove it before detonation."

"Which civilian ship?" Adama demanded.

"The passenger carrier designated 'Cloud Nine', Commander." Chu replied patiently. Tigh swore.

"How the frak did they get a nuke? Why didn't we pick it up?"

"We didn't pick it up until it went active." Chu admitted. "But our sensors may be superior to yours, if only by a few degrees. I'm having my tactical officer scan the rest of the fleet to see if we can pick up any more. We'll keep you posted on what we find."

"Can you pinpoint exactly where the bomb came from?" Adama asked.

"We should be able to, yes." Chu replied.

"Please send us those coordinates." Adama requested. "I'm going to send over a team of Marines, see if they can find anything."

"We'll send them to you directly." Chu replied, nodding to her tactical officer who proceeded to transmit the requested information.

* * *

The Marines did indeed find something aboard Cloud Nine- the leadership of the Cylon sympathizers that had hindered the Colonial's for months including, much to their surprise, the Cylon Natalie- the same Cylon that had killed Admiral Kane. So when she arrived on the Pegasus a bit worse for the ware, nobody was surprised. Commander Adama was livid, though, and sentenced the two Marines that had done most of the damage to a month in the brig. He then contacted Avalon to request if they had a secure facility that could hold the Cylon in relative safety. While Colonel Sheppard prepared the brig, the Colonials brought the Cylon to the infirmary where they treated her wounds after giving her a full body scan. Once her wounds were bandaged and she was pronounced fit by the doctor on duty, she was transferred down into the brig.

"She was a spy on the Pegasus shortly before the attacks," the elder Adama was telling O'Neill. "Apparently she caused the deaths of 800 crewmen. She was caught and imprisoned on the Pegasus, where Admiral Kane allowed her to be beaten, raped, and tortured in any other way imaginable. Shortly after our two ships hooked up, she somehow escaped from her cell, killed Kane, then fled the ship. We've been unable to find her, until now."

"While we don't like the Cylons for obvious reason," Rosalin continued, "We do not abide the kind of abuse Kane and her people used on her. That's why we asked to hold her here- less chance of an 'accident' happening with your people guarding her."

Jack nodded and approached the cell. The brunette Cylon glared at him from behind the bars. "Do you have a name?" He asked. When she didn't answer, Jack pressed. "I can call you Bob, if you want…"

"Gina." She replied finally.

Jack nodded. "We do things a little differently down here, Gina. You won't be mistreated or tortured. If we interrogate you, we will not use force. You will get three meals a day, clean clothes and bedding, and some books to read, if you want. If you don't harm my people, we won't harm you. If you try to kill my people, though, I'll toss you in a hole and leave you for a few days. You do kill my people, I'll forget to get you back out. Understood?"

"Yes, I understand."

"Where did you get the nuke?"

Gina smiled. "A friend of the cause."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Brother," he mumbled to himself. "Well, it doesn't really matter. There aren't anymore loose nukes- we've checked. Well, make yourself comfortable, you'll be here for a while." And with that, the small group turned and left, leaving the Cylon agent alone in her cell.

* * *

"Well, that went about as well as I could expect." Jack said, taking a seat in the conference room. Adama, Rosalin, Carter Sheppard and McKay joined him. He looked at Adama. "Do you know if there are more of those in your fleet? We let them settle down here, they'll start trying to blow the place up."

"Unfortunately, we don't know." Adama said simply. "Baltar devised a means of testing, but it takes hours per each blood sample, and we never even finished scanning my crew."

"Our scanner were able to detect Sharon Valeri as a Cylon, though." Carter pointed out. "Maybe we can adapt the cities life signs detectors…"

"No, wouldn't work." McKay interrupted.

"And why not?" Carter asked. "The hand scanners are based off of the same technology…"

"Yes, but on a much smaller scale." McKay explained. He leaned forward. "Look, I've studies the scan we took of the blond in sickbay, and I think I've figured out how she was constructed."

"How?" Adama asked, curious despite himself.

McKay smiled. "I'm glad you asked…"

"Oh, brother…" Sheppard and O'Neill both said at the same time. Rodney ignored them.

"In our galaxy, we came across something called a Replicator. It's a self-aware mechanical device that absorbs everything it can around it to create more of itself. SG-1 then ran across a far more advanced model, human form replicators."

"You think these are human form replicators?" Jack asked. Rodney shook his head.

"No, but hear me out. The human form's were comprised of billions of nanites, all bonded together into one coherent shape- that of a person. Now, theoretically, it would be possible for nanites to be used in the construction of living, organic tissue- and eventually, in the creation of a human body. But the nanites would still be there, healing any injuries and keeping the person alive, since their major organs would be comprised mostly of the nanites." He smiled triumphantly. "That what I think your Cylon' did. You've said they ere an advanced artificial intelligence. I think that they got smart enough to create the nanites, then went one step further and created nanites that could forum a living human body."

"If that were true, why only twelve models?" Rosalin asked. "Why not make dozens more? Hundreds of different people?"

"Because it would take time, and more than likely a sample of the biological being they were trying to emulate." Rodney hypothesized. "If that were true, then the Cylon in the brig is an artificial copy of a real person. Probably people they kidnapped years ago."

"That's all interesting, but tell me why that means we can't detect them on the cities life signs detector?" Carter pressed. Rodney let out a long-suffering sigh.

"Sam, Sam, Sam… see, this is why, while you'll always be smart, you'll never be as smart as me."

"Rodney…" she started.

"The answers in the explanation!" he exclaimed. "Nanites..." he prompted, then Carter realized where he was going.

"Are so small, they wouldn't be detected by a general sweep." She finished. "But the hand held scanners give a much more powerful scan at a closer range, so the nanites would be detected at once."

"Exactly." Rodney finished. "So, we funnel the refugees in through a couple pre-designated points, tell them that we have to perform a health scan or luggage scan-"

"And pull out any Cylons." Rosalin finished.

Rodney beamed. "Right in one. Hmph, I'm so good, sometimes I even impress myself."

"That doesn't seem too hard." Rosalin said sweetly. Rodney's face dimmed even as the others' chuckled around the table.

"Now, what's that supposed to mean?

* * *

The following days were hectic for the Colonials. Nearly three fourth's of the refugees moved into the newly-opened area's of the city, while their ships were landed on the outskirts of the city. Surprisingly, the scans didn't reveal any more human form Cylons, which both relieved and worried both Adama and O'Neill. On one hand, that meant no Cylon sabotage on the city- but on the other hand, any Cylons were now left in space aboard much needed transports with little supervision. To help curtail any sabotage attempts on those ships, Adama had the remaining people transferred to some of the larger ships, and had the smaller ones land either in Avalon's' docking bay or on the surround ground around it. O'Neill then had several Air Force engineers assist the Colonials in assessing what repairs were needed, and repair teams were being ferried to the direst cases by the city's Puddle Jumpers.

On the fifth day after their arrival, elections were finally held. While the Galactica marines provided security, the civilians in charge of counting the ballots were ferried down to Avalon and used its spacious conference room. Colonel Tigh, Tori and several members of the Quorum also helped supervise the count to ensure propriety. Every thirty minutes a Raptor brought down a sealed box containing the ballots, which were opened by the counters. As each ship was counted the results were posted on a board set up in the back of the room. Tori looked at the board in satisfaction as each new ship was counted.

By the end of the day, Laura Rosalin had won by a landslide.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to present to you once again, President Laura Rosalin." Adama stood back and began to clap as Laura stepped up to the podium the next day, and the massive crowed erupted into applause.

"Thank you, thank you all." Rosalin started as the applause finally died down. "I am pleased to once again serve as your president. I know that over the past year, things have been beyond difficult for us all. But thankfully, with the help of our cousins from Earth, we will hopefully, finally know peace once more." She paused for the applause to die down. "They have opened this massive city to us, and we have already begun landing our ships and settling here. We have already begun planning for an open market in several areas of the city, and we have been assure by our Earth cousins that we will be allowed to freely govern ourselves. In time, either here, or on another world far from here, I expect we will begin to rebuild our civilization, and make the most of the opportunity for a fresh start."

Again she waited for the applause to die down. "Now, these days will be difficult for all of us. Whereas before our twelve colonies had been separated- first by planets, then by ships; now, we must all learn to live together. We must all learn to respect the beliefs and feelings of our fellow men and women. We must not give in to irrational hate or old grudges between our old colonies. We must, as I said before, take advantage of this fresh start we have had forced upon us. WE MUST HAVE PEACE! SO SAY WE ALL!"

"SO SAY WE ALL! SO SAY WE ALL!" the crowd chanted in response. Rosalin smiled and stepped back from the podium-

* * *

And Gaius Baltar switched off the feed.

"And that's it. I'm done for." He said dejectedly, taking another swig of the liquor from the bottle. Baltar had been assigned quarters on Avalon, where he had watched Rosalin ascend once again to the top of the mountain. He had been given the bare necessities- but that was all. He had no lab, no equipment- He was no longer the preeminent scientist present. No, now they had that Rodney McKay, with his absurd ideas about the Cylons… or even Colonel Carter, a military officer who new more about subspace theory and Ancient technology then he could ever hope to learn. No, he no longer held the adulation of the people, or the recognition of his peers- and it was starting to look as if he would never have either again.

"Doomed to fade into obscurity, eh?" Six said, ran a finger languidly down his cheek. "Poor Gaius Baltar, no longer the biggest fish in the pond, now as obsolete as that old Battlestar up there…"

"That 'old Battlestar' has taken everything you've thrown against it." Baltar said annoyed. "And this is your entire fault, you know. You convince me to run fro President, convince me that God has some plan for me… and what does it get me? Nothing! Nothing but an empty room and some cheap booze…"

"God works in mysterious ways, Gaius." Six said dangerously, yanking back hard on his hair, "You just need to learn how to interpret him." Gaius whimpered in pain, and her grip lessoned. "Think about it. You still have unrestricted access to this city. All of Gods enemies are gathered in one place…"

"And what could I possible do about it?" Gaius asked bitterly. Six smiled.

"Go to the power plant," she began seductively, straddling the former vice President, "And I will tell you how to get your revenge…"

* * *

As the day faded into evening, the celebrations began to wind down. Rosalin had left hours ago with Admiral Adama to continue talks with Daniel and O'Neill, leaving Lee as the senior officer at the party.

"You know, these things always bore the crap out of me." Starbuck said idly, coming up beside the Commander. Lee looked at her dress uniform in mock disappointment, so she asked "What?"

"You didn't wear your dress." He pouted playful. Kara socked him in the arm. "Hey, that's striking a superior officer!"

"Yeah, when did that eve stop me?"

"A girl after my own heart." Pierce said with a smile as she came up to the two officer. She herself was dressed in her dress blues, as was Mitchell beside her.

"You all bored? Pierce was about to give me the grand tour." He said. Lee grinned.

"Good, let's get the frak out of here."

* * *

Baltar made his was swiftly into the power plant, being careful to stay low as to avoid anymore detection. The first thing Six had instructed him to do was to go to the landing bay and board a jumper, where he obtained one of the Ancient stunners. One he had that, he made his way to the power plant, where he promptly stunned the two guards who were not expecting a man like him to put up any kind of fight.

Sometimes, being classified as a 'nerd' had its benefits.

Once inside, he made his way to the central control pedestal, located dead center in the room. He then swiftly followed Six's instructions on how to overload the power generator- a blast that would, in the end, detroy both the planet, and his enemies in a single stroke.

* * *

As Pierce guided the four of them around the city, a thought kept nagging in the back of her mind. Without realizing it, she had led them towards the power plant. She stopped and frowned, an action that Mitchell had noticed.

"Hawkeye, what's wrong?"

Pierce shook her head. "I don't know, but something feels…off…"

"Fancy meeting you here, kids." They all turned around to see Jack O'Neill leading Rosalin and Adama down the hall. All of the junior officers immediately sprang to attention, but Jack waved them off.

"Out for a stroll, sir?" Cameron asked.

"I was interested in seeing these ZPM's I hear so much about." Adama said. "Kind of curious to see if we can interface them with our ships."

"That would solve a ton of problems…" Lee started to agree, but a shrill alarm blasted throughout the city, startling them all. "What in the gods names…"

"Something's wrong in the power plant…" Peirce started, taking off for the door down the hall. Before she could reach it, it opened and Gaius Baltar sprinted out, slamming into her. They were both knocked to the ground, but the stunner slid from Baltar's waist across the floor. The scientist scrambled to his feet, but was stopped short by the unassuming figure of Laura Rosalin.

"Baltar! What are you doing here!" she demanded.

"I-I was j-j-just l-l-looking around, sightseeing really, when-" he started.

"He set the power generator to overload!" Pierce exclaimed, bolting through the door to try and repair the damage. Before Baltar could say anymore, Rosalin drew back, and slugged him hard across the jar. The impact sent him careening into a wall, where his head impacted violently. The result of the two jarring collisions was that the collaborator fell to the floor, unconscious. O'Neill picked up the stunner and shot him once for good measure.

"We don't die, I'm going to kick his ass." O'Neill said plainly.

"Get in line." Adama growled.

Pierce ran into the room, but was stopped short by what she saw. The central pedestal was glowing brightly, it's inner ZPM reaching critical mass. Without thinking, she threw her hands up towards the pedestal as the ZPM's containment was breached, and with the power of her mind, erected a field around the pedestal that absorbed and contained the energy. She screamed in pain, but refused to lower her elf-created force field- if that energy damaged the other ZPM,s they would all go up. And if the Zero Point Energy generator, the very device that powered the ZPM,s was damaged-

Well, then the whole system would go up.

Kara and Lee raced in, with Mitchell right behind them, and froze at the sight in front of them. Never before had any of them seen a person do what she was doing with nothing more than the power of her mind.

"HAWKEYE!" Mitchell shouted, shielding his eyes from the massive glow of energy.

"What do we do?" Lee asked, looking around the room. Letting her instincts guide her, Kara darted over to the wall and ripped off a panel, revealing the control crystals beneath. Rapidly she began pulling them out and rearranging them. Lee ran over to her and looked on in shock.

"What are you doing?"

"I don't know!" Kara shouted back, panic evidence in her voice.

"What do you mean, 'You don't know'?"

"It means I DON'T FRAKING KNOW!"

Lee watched on, dividing his attention between the auto-piloting Starbuck, and Hawkeye, who was telekinetically holding back the energy. He saw the pain in her face and watched in horror as her hair faded from vibrant brown to pure white. "Kara, whatever you're doing, you better finish soon!"

Starbuck slid the last crystal into place. "DONE!" she shouted, typing a command into the screen next to her. Suddenly the energy wasn't going out, but being pushed up and out. The resulting blast blew out all of the glass in the skylight above them, and everybody covered their heads to protect themselves from the falling glass- all but Pierce, who collapsed to the ground. The energy discharge lasted for a full minute before finally fading away, and the cities safety measures came on line and finally locked down the system, shutting off the ZPEG. While everybody else took stock, Mitchell rushed over and cradled the unconscious Elizabeth Pierce in his arms, trying in vain to wake her up again.

* * *

It was several hours later before the Colonial leadership and the leaders of the Stargate Alliance could take stock. After the power plant shut down, the city had gone dark for several minutes. Pandemonium reigned as the Colonials panicked, thinking that between the beam of energy and the blackout, the Cylons had finally gotten to them. It wasn't' until power was restored and Laura Rosalin had made a short address covering what had happened that people began settling down- though most, if not all, were shocked at the news that Gaius Baltar was an apparent Cylon sympathizer.

Gaius Baltar had been taken to the infirmary for a full medical scan and treatment. What had been found was interesting- there were low levels of nanites in his system, but not enough for him to have been a human form Cylon, at least according to Rodney's' estimates. It could only be inferred then that somehow the Cylons had infected Gaius at some point- though when was a mystery that would have to wait until he woke up. Between the stunner and Roslin's punch, that would be a while.

Pierce, on the other hand, was harder to treat. Oh the injuries had been healed in a trice, but she reused to wake up. Dr. Jennifer Keller, newly transferred from Atlantis, did a full medical workup, but could find no reason for her unconscious state. After all the tests had been performed and the bandages applied, Pierce lay on a secluded bed in the infirmary, where Mitchell stood in silent vigil over her.

"She'll be fine." A voice said quietly from behind him. Mitchell looked over his shoulder to General O'Neill.

"Well, at least she turned over control to the city to you." Cameron said, only a little bitterness creeping into his voice. O'Neill ignored it.

"That kid's been screwed over more times in her career than Sheppard, myself, and Daniel have ever been combined." O'Neill admitted. "But when she wakes up- and I know she will, because she's too damn stubborn to stay down- I'll makes sure she gets a promotion, a raise, and a freakin' medal for everything she's done." He smiled grimly. "She's certainly earned it."

"No doubt, sir." Mitchell agreed.

"Come on, we're ready to start." O'Neill turned and walked away, and Mitchell- after one last look at his friend and wing mate, turned and followed."

* * *

"Let's get down to brass taks people," O'Neill started without preamble as eh and Mitchell came into the conference room. He sat as the doors closed, then looked right at Adama. "Do you have any idea how long Baltar's been playing for the other team?"

"No." Adama said stoically, but everyone could see the fury in his eyes. "All I know for certain is that he's always acted strange, ever since he got on board. I've heard several people say he likes to talk to himself, but he talks as if there was someone else in the room with him. He's our expert at Cylon technology- even discovered a Cylon homing beacon in or CIC at the very beginning of the war."

"Discovered- or recognized?" Daniel asked.

"At this point, I just don't know. And I won't know until he wakes up."

O'Neill held up his hand. "Before you get all gung-ho, I just have to say this- he committed an act of sabotage on this city, which could have destroyed it, everybody in it, and the whole planet besides. We will be holding him in our brig, and you will be able to participate in the questioning jointly with our interrogators." He looked at them, his eyes like steel, "I will not have anybody trying to take revenge against him for any reason." He turned his gaze to Mitchell. "Am I understood?"

"Yes ,sir." He replied.

"What about your person, Major Pierce?" Rosalin asked, concern in her voice. "If it hadn't been for her, I shudder to think what would have happened."

"Knowing Hawkeye, she'll wake up when she's damn good and ready." O'Neill assured her. "And your person? Starbuck, was it?"

"I ordered her to your sick bay for examination." Adama replied. "I asked her what happened, she said she didn't know. It was like she was running on auto pilot, she said."

"Kind of sounds like how Pierce was at Atlantis." Mitchell pointed out. "Another part- ascended?"

"Guess we'll find out when thetests come back." O'Neill said. "In the mean time-"

"In the mean time," a new voice interrupted, and all heads turned to the now open doors. In them stood William MacMillan, a smug grin on his face. "Perhaps you can fill me in on what is happening in my city?"

TBC

* * *


	15. Chapter 15: Secrets of a Presidency

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

Special thanks to my beta Daniel H.

* * *

**Chapter 15**

**Secrets of a Presidency**

* * *

"Will, what the hell are you doing here?" Jack asked, looking upon the former General with annoyance. Macmillan smirked.

"Well, I was coming back here to do some follow up work for the IOA, and what do I find?" he started, circling the table towards Jack. "Alarms blaring, a big hole in the roof of the power plant, apparently as a result of some Colonials and Major Pierce…"

"Major Pierce," Jack stated fiercely, "Is the reason this planet still exists. She managed to contain the explosion of energy from an overloaded ZPM. Captain Thrace of the Colonial fleet, who apparently has the ATA gene, was able to reroute the power so the blast was directed up and away from the planet. The Cylons were the ones responsible for the sabotage."

"So they say." MacMillan nodded towards the Colonial designation. "From the reports I've read so far, it was their Gaius Baltar, was it not, that set the ZPM to overload?" he looked back to Jack. "And just how was it he was able to do that? Hmm? Been giving guided tours through all of the classified areas?"

"That's bullshit and you know it, Willie." Jack spat.

"Bullshit or not, it's very convincing circumstantial evidence." MacMillan leaned forward in his chair. "Nevertheless, if Baltar was being influenced by Cylon technology, I want to know. General, on behalf of the I.O.A., I am ordering the immediate scanning of every single Colonial citizen for Cylon tech. I want that to be top priority. Meanwhile, I want all Colonial citizens confined to their quarters until it can be reasonably proven that there are no more Cylon's among them." He finished, raising his voice over Laura's objections. "Surely Madam President you can see the prudence of these measures? Especially since Major Pierce can't be around to save the day again." He finished scornfully. "In the meantime, General, I want a twenty-four hour guard place on all critical areas, including Ops and the Power Plant. No unauthorized personnel are to be allowed in without my express permission. Is that clear?"

"Bite me, Billy." O'Neill shot back. "but since I'm in the giving mood, and I agree with all of that, I'll go ahead and do it anyway. Madam President," he turned to Laura. "I really hate doing this, but with the hand scanners, it should take too long to clear your people. Will you make the announcement?"

Laura sighed wearily, but nodded. "Yes, I will. And I understand the need for increased security, General. I truly do. I just don't want my people to be prisoners."

They won't be, I assure you." Jack replied.

"One more thing," Macmillan added, "I want Pierce moved back to Earth for observation, to make sure there weren't any ill-effects from whatever she did."

"You mean you want her out of here so she doesn't kick your ass when she wakes up." O'Neill interpreted. "Not a chance in hell. I'm making it a standing order that Elizabeth Pierce is not to be moved from this city without her express approval under any circumstances." He rose from his chair. "This meeting is over."

* * *

The next several days were filled with a flurry of activity as Atlantis sent even more personnel over to facilitate the screening of the some thirty thousand Colonial citizens that had settled into the city so far. The people, who had at first been outraged at being locked in their rooms, turned suddenly grateful when two more Cylon's were discovered within the first two days.

On the third day, though, a far more important discovery was made.

It started out simply enough. Doctor Carson Beckett and his two Marine escorts made their way to the southeast tower to begin their scans of the residents. They soon came to one of the lower apartments, where a young single mother named Maya had been given residence. Maya's scans came up clean.

Her child Isis' did not.

Carson asked the mother to bring her child and accompany him to medical under the pretense of giving the child some immunizations that she hadn't yet received. While there he ran a detailed DNA scan, all the while asking Maya routine questions about her child. After some proding, Maya finally confessed that she had adopted the child on the condition of absolute secrecy; she had been told the child had belonged to an officer on _Pegasus_ who had to give her up for political reasons. Carson's scans, however, told a different story. The baby had belonged to an officer, but not one from _Pegasus_.

Because according to the scans, Isis was the biological child of Sharron Valerii and Karl Agathon.

* * *

Cassandra stopped short coming into O'Neill's office, seeing not only Jack, but Daniel, Teal'c, Colonel Carter, Doctor's Kostya Beckett, and Elizabeth Weir. "Oh, sorry sir," she said formal, moving to leave the office but stopped as Jack gestured for her to enter.

"That's okay, Cas. I need to ask you something."

Cassandra moved back into the office and let the door slide shut behind her. "What can I do for you, Uncle Jack?"

O'Neill grinned slightly at the informal greeting, but soon his frown returned. "On the _Titan_, after you had picked up the survivors from Caprica, did you and Doctor Kostya do a complete workup on Sharron Valerii?"

Cassandra nodded. "Yes, sir. Both before she admitted that she was a Cylon and after."

"You did the second examination, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"Did she mention anything about her child?"

Cassandra was puzzled at the question. "She remarked that she had recently given birth, but that the child died shortly thereafter."

"Did she give any indication on how she felt about that?"

Cassandra raised an eyebrow at that. "She was understandably upset. Why, sir?"

Jack glanced at Beckett. "We were scanning for Cylons, and came across a young mother and a child. The mother was clean, but the child showed signs of Cylon technology in her body. Further scans, which were cross referenced with all Colonial DNA records on file, indicated the child belonged to Sharon Valerii and Karl Agathon."

"And if she was upset about the 'loss' of her child, that leads me to believe that she didn't know her child was alive." He tuned to Carter. "Get me Adama in here ASAP."

* * *

William MacMillan leaned back in his comfortable leather chair and took a sip of 30 year old scotch. The bottle had been a present from some politician years ago in return for some-special favors. Namely his opponent, who had been gaining in the polls. While William didn't particularly like getting his hands dirty, for the right price he was flexible. He hadn't minded killing the fellow, or setting up the poor sap hat took the fall. After all, it was good scotch.

His private video com unit beeped, and he immediately switched over to an encrypted line before activating the display.

_Is this line secure?_ A voice asked.

"Of course it is. This isn't the first time I've done this, you know."

_I want to confirm we are on schedule._

Macmillan took a sip of the scotch. "We are. In a few days I will provide them with the intel you supplied. A few days after that, you will get what you want.

_And then, you get what you want._

Macmillan smiled. "Immortality."

_Just make sure you live up to your end of the bargain. I don't want to have to deal with any issues._ The voice warned.

"Don't worry, you won't." Macmillan said gruffly, snapping off the console before sitting back into his chair and sipping his drink.

* * *

"What can I do for you, General O'Neill?" Bill Adama asked as he entered Jack's now empty office. Jack sat at his desk, carefully watching the Admiral over the desk. He gestured for him to take a seat.

"Admiral,"

"Please, call me Bill." Adama interrupted with a small smile. Jack nodded.

"Only if you call me Jack." At Adama's nod, he continued. "Bill, I'd like to think we've built a partnership based on trust over the past few days."

"I'd like to think that, too." Bill replied. Jack nodded, and then slid a folder towards the Admiral.

"Then please be honest about what's in the folder." He gave Adama a few minutes to look over the file, and noted the Admiral's expression darkened, turning from confused to infuriated. "Bill, I have to ask. Did you have any knowledge about this?"

Adama set the folder back down on the desk. "No, I did not. My chief medical officer reported to me, and the child's parents, that the baby died during delivery."

Jack sighed. "Sorry to be the bearer of bad news."

Adama looked at his fellow officer wearily. "Mind if I use your phone?"

* * *

Felix Gaeta was pulled away from several status reports by the buzzing of the phone at his station. He picked up the handset. "This is Gaeta."

_Mister Gaeta, this is Admiral Adama._

Gaeta unconsciously stood up straighter. "Yes, sir. What can I do for you?"

_I need for you to arrange for a squad of Marines to bring the prisoner Sharron to General O'Neill's office immediately. I also need for you to have Lieutenant Agathon to come with her._

"Yes, sir." Gaeta said, confusedly. "I'll see to it right away." He frowned as the line went dead, then contacted Security to have the Marines prep the Cylon for travel. Once that was done, he went off in search for Helo.

* * *

Despite all the customary precautions that were taken when moving Sharon, it took only 30 minutes to get her, Helo, and a Squad of Marines onto a Raptor and down to the city below. Many of the Earth personnel looked on in a mixture of curiosity and disgust as the Marine led Sharon through the city by two, long guide poles attached to a choker around her neck, her hands and feet shackled. A curious thought flitted through Sharon's mind as she walked- the disgust the Earthers were expressing wasn't at her, but rather on how she was being treated. It gave her hope that maybe she could make a life amongst them.

Her curiosity was piqued when they arrived to General O'Neill's office to find him, Admiral Adama, Ronon and Teal'c. Adama motioned for the Marines to undo all of her restraints, then told them to wait outside.

"Would you two have a seat, please?" Jack asked. The couple hesitantly sat down in the chairs in front of the desk. Helo looked up to his commander.

"Sir, what's going on?" he asked. Adama shifted uncomfortably, but spoke. "I wanted you both down here, because I just learned some information that pertains to both of you- information about your daughter."

The two parents looked at each other in confusion. Helo looked back up at Adama. "What about Hera? She was stillborn."

"No, she wasn't."

You could hear a pin drop before Sharon finally spoke. "What do you mean, sir?"

"Apparently Doc Cottle, on orders from the President, switched your baby with the corpse of a baby that had been aborted a few days earlier. I don't know about her reasoning yet; I wanted to tell you this as soon as possible-"

"Where is my daughter!" Sharron growled out, shooting to her feet.

"In sickbay, getting some routine inoculations." Jack said soothingly. "Teal'c and Ronon will escort you two there, along with making sure you don't try to, you know- kill the president."

"It would be my right!" Sharon shouted, ignoring the calming hand Helo placed on our arm. "No, Karl! She stole out child from us!"

Helo looked up to his C.O. "Did you know, sir?" he asked. Adama shook his head.

"No, I did not. And I would not have condoned it if I had known." He assured him. Helo frowned, but stood and took Sharon's hand.

"We want to go see our child now." He said with an edge in his voice. Jack nodded.

"You do that. We have an appointment with the President."

* * *

Laura Roslin was in a meeting with her aide Tory when Adama and O'Neill entered the grounded Colonial One. Laura looked up at them both with a smile that quickly disappeared at the looks on both of the men. "Is something wrong, Admiral?"

Adama, in an uncharacteristic showing of emotion, slammed the folder bearing Hera's medical files down onto Roslin's desk.

"What gave you the right to separate that mother from her child?"

Roslin opened the file, then pushed it away when she saw who it was for. "I did what I did for the safety of the fleet! And I don't have to answer to you, Admiral!"

"No, at the moment you have to answer to me." Jack growled, stepping up beside his comrade. "Let's make one thing clear, Madam President. It took Colonel Carter, Daniel, Master Bre'tac, Teal'c and my freaking President's explicit orders to stop me from kicking you out of this city!" Jack exploded. "What you did was unethical, reprehensible…"

"You don't realize the kind of explosive situation that child can cause, once her identity becomes known!" Lara shot back. "A child born of a Cylon and a human- the Cylon's will want to get their hands on her, and there are groups amongst us that would view that child as an abomination that needs to be destroyed! There will be civil unrest, outbreaks of violence…"

"Well, we're going to have to deal with it, because I told Sharon and Karl right before we came here."

Laura glowered at the Admiral. "You had no right…"

"I had every right." He shot back. "I will not be party to this kind of deceit. And I'm officially letting you know that I won't tolerate it from anybody in this fleet- even you." With that, Adama spun around and stalked out of the ship. Jack glared at Laura, who didn't flinch back.

"We'll be keeping a close eye on the situation anybody gets violent, they'll be sent either to the brig, or back up into one of the ships in orbit. If they can't live peacefully down here they won't live here at all." Jack turned and followed Adama out of the ship, leaving Laura and Tory alone with their thoughts.

* * *

Jack and Adama made their way back to sickbay, where two very happy parents were reuniting with their infant child. Maya sat off to the side, a sad smile on her face. Karl looked up as the two officers entered and stood to attention.

"Sirs." He said formally, then turned to Adama and held his clenched hand out. "Admiral Adama, I wanted to give you these." Adama took the objet from his officer- they were his wings. "I'm hereby tendering my resignation from the Colonial Defense Force. I respect you, sir," he looked at his Admiral with a deathly calm expression, "But I refuse to serve under a President that would so ruthlessly attack a family like she did."

Adama was stricken, but he did his best to hide his feelings. Truth be told he wanted to refuse the resignation and force Helo to resume his post- he liked the young pilot, and saw him becoming a Commander himself one day. But he also understood his feelings- he had lost a child once, and had lost his other two children- including Starbuck, whom he had thought of as a daughter for a long time now- more than once since the attacks. He couldn't fault the young man from wanting to get away from Roslin.

"I understand, Karl." He pocketed the wings, then grasped his hand in a firm handshake. "You're a damn fine soldier, son. We're going to miss you up there."

"General O'Neill," Sharron stood up suddenly and faced Jack. "Karl and I, along with our child, would like to request asylum…"

"Granted." O'Neill replied immediately. "I'm already having living quarters assigned to you. You will be under guard, mind you." He warned. "The attack on the power plant has shaken us all up; and while I feel I can trust you, other's done share my sentiment."

"Understood, General." She paused, then glanced over at Maya. "I've asked Maya to help us with Hera, babysitting and the like. Will that be a problem?"

Jack smiled. "No, it won't. I'll make sure she's cleared."

"I'm surprised." Adama admitted. "She has had your child for the last several months."

"She didn't know. She was lied to like we were." Sharron countered calmly. "Besides," she smiled down at the child in her arms, "I can trust her to do what's best for her, and that's what's important."

Adama graced her with a smile. "I'll leave you to get things settled, and I'll have your things brought down to you, Karl." Helo saluted once more, and Adama returned it before turning and leaving the medical ward, bound for his private quarters in the city. He needed to contact the Galactica.

* * *

At midnight, the control room was practically deserted. Only a small skeleton crew manned all of the station's that monitored the city and the space beyond. For the dark-garbed figure, it was child's play to slink around the outskirts of the control room to a small antechamber that housed the crystalline components that ran the Ancient computers. It only took a few minutes for him to pop open a panel and place a specially designed crystal into one of the open slots. The crystal was the key- it wouldn't interfere with any of the cities main systems, but it would make sure the man's enemies were taken care of. Macmillan smiled behind his dark mask as the crystal lit up, and the information it stored was transferred to the long range sensor's console.

_Soon…_

* * *

Jack O'Neill frowned as he entered the briefing room. Not because he was late- he was a General, damnit, and they could wait for him. Instead he frowned because there was a very unwelcome figure sitting in his chair.

"Glad you could make it, Jack." Will MacMillan said dryly. "Have a seat."

Jack thought about making a snide remark, but decided to let the opportunity pass- this time. He sat down next to Carter and gave her knee a gentle squeeze, and she lightly slapped his hand away.

"Not on the job." She hissed.

Jack quirked an eyebrow. "What are they gonna do? I outrank everybody here."

Macmillan stood and glanced around the room. Aside from Jack and Carter, Colonel's Caldwell, Pendergast, Emerson and Mitchell were present, as were the other two members of SG-1. Master Bre'tac and Supreme Commander Thor, along with the two Commanders of the Battlestars, were there as well. "Now that we are all here," he began, clicking the small remote in his hand to turn on large screen behind him, "Last night around Oh-One Hundred, one of the young Lieutenants tasked with monitoring our deep space sensors picked up some very unusual readings." The graphic on the screen showed a dot marking Avalon's location, surrounded by a grey cloud of pixels. Off towards the far edge of the screen, a new dot appeared. "This planet, located some ten light-years outside of former Colonial space, is transmitting a rather intriguing signal. It's mechanical in nature…"

"Cylons?" Lee Adama asked. MacMillan shook his head.

"The signature is reading as Ancient in design."

"Another city?" Carter ventured. Macmillan shook his head.

"Too small." He replied. "Maybe a ship- or a group of ships- that were forced to land on the surface of the planet. Ships carrying real, live Ancients."

"That would be incredible!" Daniel exclaimed.

"Why?" Jack asked. At Daniel's look, he pressed on. "We got two Ancient cities, with their databases and tech. Why would real live old people matter?"

"Because it will take us decades to make any headway in those databases without some kind of guide." Carter explained. "Having a real life Ancient explain how this technology works would be a godsend."

"That's exactly what the I.O.A. thinks." MacMillan finished. "General O'Neill, seeing as you have the most experience with Ancient knowledge, I want you to lead SG-1 to this planet to make contact. Colonel Mitchell," he turned to Cameron, "You will go as well, but you'll be under O'Neill command."

"Yes, sir." Mitchell replied. While slightly bummed about loosing command of his team- even temporarily- he was hyped to be going in with the original SG-1, the team he had wanted to join, and then lead, once he came into the SGC.

"Colonel Pendergast, I'll ask you to carry them in." MacMillan continued. "The _Prometheus_ is Jack's flagship, after all."

"Yes, Sir." Pendergast replied.

"With all due respect to Colonel Pendergast and his ship, I think the _Titan_ would be a better choice…"

"The _Titan_ is to remain docked at the city." Macmillan cut her off.

Carter shook her head. "But she's better armed, and has cloaking capabilities…."

"The _Prometheus_ has been outfitted with a ZPM." Macmillan explained. "Its shields and weapons are more than capable enough to fend off a Cylon attack. And I want our other ships to remain here, end of discussion." Macmillan turned to Adama. "Admiral, would you have anybody available to go with them?" he asked. "_Prometheus_ will be traveling close to Cylon-occupied territory, and I'd like to have some experts on hand to assist in defense if needed."

"I'll go." Lee volunteered, looking to his father. "Hoshi can take command of the _Pegasus_ in the mean time. I'll take Starbuck and a squad of Marines."

Adama considered for a moment, then nodded in consent. "Get what you need, then report to _Prometheus_."

"As before, we ask our Asgard and Free Jaffa friends to remain behind to guard this city, in case our enemies decide to attack." Bre'tac and Thor both nodded at MacMillan. "Excellent." The former General clapped his hands. "A momentous occasion is about to occur. Godspeed, General!"

"Thanks, Billy." Jack said, rising to his feet. "We move out in three hours. Grab your gear and let's go!"

*****

The trip to the mystery planet took a day for the _Prometheus_, and its crew handled it with their usual efficiency. As the time for their exit from hyperspace approached, SG-1 and their Colonial advisors gathered on the bridge of the vessel.

"I still think we should have taken the _Titan_." Carter complained lowly to her friends. "At least then we could have dropped out of hyperspace at the edge of the system and cloaked."

"This ship can handle itself in a fight." O'Neill reassured her.

Carter was about to reply when the navigator, Hutchins, called out. "Coming up on coordinates. Prepare to drop out of hyperspace."

"Take us out." Pendergast ordered. Lieutenant Hutchins complied and killed the Hyperdrive, and through the forwards viewports the purple and blue streaks faded to the blackness of space-

And suddenly the ship was rocked by a massive explosion.

Sparks flew and steam billowed from cracked pipes, and everyone who had been standing a moment ago suddenly found themselves on the floor.

"Shields!" Pendergast shouted. "Helm, get us out of here!" The Colonel was nearly knocked out of his chair as the ship was rocked by multiple explosions, though they were somewhat lessened by the shields snapping into existence. "Report!" he ordered.

"Hyperdrive is off line, sublights are at thirty six percent." Hutchins' reported.

"Shields are at twenty percent, weapons are off line!" Captain Walker shouted from the gunners seat.

"What about the ZPM?" Mitchell asked frantically. "It should be boosting our shields!"

"I've got no reading from it!" Walker exclaimed. "Also, several control circuits were destroyed in the first explosion."

"What the hell hit us…" O'Neill started, but stopped and stared out the front view port.

"By the gods…" Kara muttered. For in space before them sat a fleet of Cylon Base Stars-

Most of whom were launching missiles.

"It's a trap!" Mitchell exclaimed.

"No shit, Ackbar!" Jack shot back, then turned to the helmsman "Evasive maneuvers! Get us the hell out of here!"

Sluggishly, the _Prometheus_ turned and tried to flee, but found their way blocked by a line of more Base Stars. Hutchins tried to go underneath, but the massive ships launched their fighters and forced the ship back around towards the planet.

"They're herding us…" Carter grumbled to herself, looking over the sensor displays. "Sir, I'm reading another ship out there… it's massive, but the sensors recognize…" she stopped and looked up at Jack, a horrified expression on her face. "It's an Asgard Mothership, but I'm reading massive amounts of Replicator tech on board!"

"REPLICATORS!" Jack exclaimed.

SG-1 looked on in horror as the massive form of the Replicator-modified Asgard Mothership came into view. The flat forward hull was bristling with unfamiliar weaponry, as were the two tall, vertical hyperdrive engines in the rear. And under the fore most part of the nose of the ship was a large, round port that was glowing menacingly.

"I'm reading a massive buildup of energy from the Replicator ship…" Carter announced. "It's preparing to fire!"

"Transfer all available power to the forward shields!" Pendergast ordered."

"She's firing!"

"All hands, brace for impact!"

A brilliant blast of pure energy streaked away from the Mothership, and crossed the thousands of miles between the two ships in seconds. It ripped through the _Prometheus'_ already weakened shields, and ripped through the long neck of the vessel as if they were paper. In an instant, nearly a dozen officers and crew were sucked out into the vacuum of space as the compartments they were in were rent open.

* * *

Back in the control room on Avalon, the on duty crew watched in muted horror at the long range sensor screen as the tiny blip that was _Prometheus_ was assaulted by innumerable Cylon ships. They saw the mysterious Asgard ship fire on the Earth battle cruiser once, twice, a third time---

And then it was gone.

Macmillan did his best not to smile as all of his adversaries were wiped out in a single moment. Outwardly, he projected his usual, calm demeanor. "I want all of our ships in orbit on high alert. Have the crews finish construction on those Ancient warships as soon as possible as well." He paused and looked at the screen pointedly. "Apparently, we can't trust our alien friends." He turned and walked up towards the administrator's office. "I'll be in the office, drafting condolence letters to the families of the departed." Macmillan entered the office and sat down behind the desk, finally alone, he allowed himself a brief smile.

"I won!" he exclaimed quietly, sitting back in his chair. He was laughing quietly to himself, even as he began to draft the first letter.

**TBC**


	16. Chapter 16: To Steal a Titan

**A/N:** My thanks to my Beta, Daniel Haire, who got this back lickity split. Yes, I used lickity split.

**Disclaimer:** See Chapter 1

**To Steal a Titan**

**Soundtrack: Stealing the Enterprise (Stark Trek III: The Search for Spock)**

* * *

Captain Douglas Ramsey stood at attention in the office of Richard Macmillan, but inside he was seething. He had just spent the past half an hour outlaying a rescue operation to recover possible survivors from the Prometheus, but Macmillan was adamant about not sending anybody, for any reason. They're dead, he said. The ship was obliterated. I'm not sending more people to their deaths on a wild goose-chase… on and on he went- was still going, Ramsey corrected himself.

"So, for the final time, Captain," Macmillan concluding, emphasizing Ramsey's relatively low rank, "the answer to your or anybody else' suggestion of some hair-brained rescue mission is no."

"If that's the IOA's decision, Mister Macmillan." Ramsey shot back, silently relishing the glower the former General sent his way.

"Further more, I will be bringing in a replacement crew for the _Titan_. You and your crewmates will be rotated back to Earth- perhaps to an academy post, where you can keep the good Major company if she ever wakes up. Dismissed."

Ramsey didn't bother saluting; he just turned on his heels and stalked out of the office. Rotated out… academy posting… he suddenly emphasized greatly with Pierce and everything she had gone through. He had no doubt that, despite no longer holding any official rank, Macmillan had the connections to make good on his threat. Ramsey stopped in his tracks cold and considered. If Macmillan did have that much clout, then it's a fair assumption that is career in the Air Force was coming to a swift end. And if that was the case… Ramsey clenched his fists, swiveled around on his heels, and marched straight back towards Macmillan's office. He raised his hand to hit the door chime, but suddenly the door opened a crack, and the soft voice of Macmillan drifted out. Curious despite himself, he leaned in close to the crack.

_No, I'm stonewalling any rescue attempts. Some punk officer was just in here making a noise, but I put him down…. Yes, my people will be here within the week. Once we take command of the Titan, will upload the program you gave me into the network- you're Cylon friends shouldn't have a problem taking everyone out then, especially if they are able to disrupt the weapons systems on the Goa'uld and Asgardian ships… no, they all think they'll be getting the same deal- a new and improved body to house our immortal souls. Once I arrive, I'll infect the Titan with the virus and beam down, you can destroy them all then. God, I wish I could have seen the look on O'Neill's face when he realizes he was set up! _Horrified, Ramsey backed away from the door slowly, then made his way away from the office. Once he rounded the first corner, he sagged against the wall.

His friends, the officers he served with and under, all the people he respected- all dead or imprisoned, thanks to Macmillan. A sorry excuse of a former officer who made some kind of deal with the Cylons, somehow. A man who sacrificed the lives of everyone on the Prometheus- and was going to sacrifice everyone on Avalon- and in both fleets- unless something was done. Resolve settled in, and Ramsey hurried towards his quarters to make some very important calls.

* * *

Like all officers, Captain Ramsey had been given quarters in the city. And in those quarters he was sitting with several other _Titan_ crewmembers- Lieutenant Hailey Mills, Dr. Kostya, Cadets Kailee Robson and Cassandra Frasier, and Captain Samuel Simmons, all around his now rather cramped folding poker table.

"Thank you all for coming," he started, taking a sip of water. "I asked you all here because I uncovered… well, a plot to not only kill the crew of the _Prometheus_, but everybody in this city as well."

Frasier looked up sharply. Her eyes were red and puffy from all of the crying she had been doing recently, and her hair and clothes were disheveled. "What?"

"I made a plea to Macmillan today to undertake a rescue mission," he began, diving right in. "But he denied it. I was dismissed, but after I left, I decided to give the son of a bitch a piece of my mind. So I went back to his office- and the door cracked open a bit on its own. I was able to overhear a conversation he was having with…someone, who, I don't know. But the gist of it was he made a deal, for his soul or mind or whatever to be downloaded into some new Cylon body, in exchange for the total destruction of everyone here- beginning with the _Prometheus_." He leaned in, looking past their shocked faces. "I think he somehow manipulated the sensors to give false readings, to lure in the _Prometheus_. He had General O'Neill and almost all of the command staff, including SG-1, travel on an outdated, inadequate ship into hostile territory, getting them out of the way. Without O'Neill or SG-1 here, he's had free run of the place. Now he's going to bring in his own crew to man the _Titan_, probably because such a small ship is easier to manage with a small crew- a fact that I'm planning on exploiting myself."

"What are you talking about, Captain?" Kostya asked.

Ramsey took a breath. "What I am about to say- well, it could get you all into trouble. Desertion, at the least; Mutiny at worst. Anybody who doesn't want to be brought before a board of inquiry, leave now and when, not if, WHEN we are brought up on charges, we'll leave your names out of this completely." He looked around the table anxiously, waiting for someone to move. Finally, Cassandra spoke.

"Captain, with all due respect- I lost my family on Hanka to the Goa'uld. I lost my adopted mother in the line of duty. And now, I find out the only family I had left was sent on a suicide mission by a tyrannical despot with delusions of immortality. So cut the crap and tell us the plan already."

A ghost of a smile played across Ramsey's lips. "Alright, here's the plan." He leaned forward once more. "We're going to steal the _Titan_, and then get our people back."

* * *

It was dark by the time William Adama returned to the quarters he had secured in the city. He hated sleeping here, hated the lack of motion or the distant, but constant thrum of machinery surrounding him, but he realized that with negotiations going the way they were with the new IOA head, it was imperative that he be on site to put out any brushfires that popped up. He tiredly waved his hand at he door sensor and stepped into the darkened room. The door closed behind him and the lights came on- to reveal Douglas Ramsey sitting in a chair facing him. Adama didn't allow any trepidation to show on his face as he glanced around, and spotted several more junior officers and cadets in his room.

"I know Macmillan wants our tech, but I expected he'd send somebody older to do this." Adama said dryly, moving towards the bar to pour himself a drink. "And what is this, a class field trip?"

"Ah, no sir, Admiral." Ramsey stuttered, shooting to his feet. "Um, I don't exactly know what you think we're here to do…"

"Cut the crap…Captain," he shot back, eyeing the insignia on Ramsey's shirt. "With the 'Old Man' out of the way, it would make things easier for your boss."

"The son of a bitch isn't my boss, Sir." Ramsey responded coolly. "And I'm not here for him. I'm here because we need your help."

"My help?"

"We're planning a rescue. We know there are survivors- I overheard a conversation Macmillan was having- apparently, with a Cylon." Realization dawned on Adama's face, and Ramsey nodded. "We have a plan to get a ship, but we don't know how to fight the Cylons. We need an experienced hand to help us, someone who knows how those machines think, and fight." Ramsey moved in close. "Your son and one of your people were on the Prometheus. They may still be alive. Help us!"

Adama sighed and set his glass down on the bar. "My son was on the Prometheus. And Kara is the closest I'll ever get to a daughter. But if I help you, what happens to the rest of my people. Macmillan will accuse them of starting a rebellion, of attempting to take over, and then they'll be jailed, or worse."

"Not if he thinks you didn't come along willingly." Ramsey grinned. Adama glanced at him curiously, before he recognized what the young Captain had planned. He raised his glass in salute. "To the brave and the bold, then."

* * *

The next day, Rodney Mckay was typing away furiously on his computer, trying to find out exactly what the crystal he had pulled out of the long range sensors did. But the more data he pulled out of the storage device, the more worried he got. So he dug deeper into the system, hoping to discover just what was going on. After about three hours, he released two things- the information he had found indicated two plans being carried out, and neither plan supported the other. He took off from his makeshift lab on Avalon and hurried to find the one person eh knew he could trust now.

"Sheppard!" Rodney called out to his friend. John slowed and let the shorter scientist catch up.

"Rodney. What's up?"

"Not here, somewhere….here," he grabbed Sheppard by the arm and dragged him into a small storage area, barely big enough for the both of them. He waited for the door to close before he began searching his pockets for the crystal.

"Rodney, I know we have the whole 'don't ask, don't tell' thing… but is there something you wanted to say to me?" Sheppard asked dryly.

"Huh?" Rodney said confusedly, then scowled. "Get your mind out of the gutter."

"I'd rather get it out of the closet- that didn't sound right…"

"I pulled you in here so no one else could here what I'm about to tell you." Rodney explained hurriedly. "I was running some diagnostics on the long range sensors, to find out how exactly they missed an armada of Cylon ships lying in wait for the Prometheus. And I found this crystal," he produced the crystal finally, holding it up on front of John. "I analyzed it, and the programming is similar to Asgardian writings."

"Wait, are you saying the Asgard set our people up?" Sheppard asked in disbelief. Rodney huffed in annoyance.

"No, I said similar. Because underneath the coding I found something else that was even more disturbing- replicator code." At the look on John's face, Rodney pressed on. "I think that the Replicator's somehow got his crystal into our sensors, and used it to take out what they may have perceived to be their biggest threat- SG-1, the one entity that has consistently kicked their butts over the years. But that's not all I found."

"There's more?"

"I was digging through the mainframe, trying to find any more evidence of Replicator programming, when I came upon an anomaly so sorts. It took me a while to unravel it; the coding was quite advanced, though, of course not as good as my own…"

"Rodney!"

"Someone has planned a systematic disabling of any and all security protocols or sensors tomorrow evening." He pulled a small PDA out of his vest pocket and turned it on, then turned it to show John. On the screen was a diagram of Avalon, with several corridors blacked out. John squinted at the screen.

"It looks like they blocked out the corridors between the East Pier, the barracks… and the Power plant?" he looked up in alarm. "Another attack?"

"I thought so too, but then I thought some more. Who here, besides me, has the brains to write a program like this and bury it in such a way that would not be easily found, unless someone was digging deep into the mainframe? Who here has a ship on the East Pier, that only needs a ZPM to be fully powered and ready to go again? And who here would be affected most by the possible deaths of SG-1, specifically Samantha Carter, the person's sponsor?"

"Lieutenant Hailey Mills." Sheppard concluded. "She wouldn't…"

"What, steal a ship to undertake a clandestine, unauthorized rescue operation?"

"She's barely out of the academy. She wouldn't be able to get on the ship…"

"Unless her program also deactivates all locks, which it does." Rodney pointed out smiling. Then he frowned. "The question is, what do we do about it?"

"We find out what's going on. Then we make a decision." Sheppard said with finality. He moved towards the door, but it didn't budge. "Uh, Rodney? Theses doors open form the inside, right?"

"Of course! They should…" suddenly he didn't sound so confident. Sheppard suppressed an angry growl and started banging on the door, which opened a moment later to an amused Captain Chu.

"Colonel Sheppard." She inclined her head politely.

"Captain." Sheppard replied, trying his best to sound cool and collected. Then he stumbled slightly as Rodney pushed him out of the closet. He looked back in annoyance, then grinned embarrassedly at the Chinese officer.

"Don't ask…"

Chu smiled. "Don't tell." She replied before heading off, their overheard conversation still fresh in her mind. She needed to plan…

* * *

It was with great trepidation that Bill Adama approached the quarters of the Agathons. He really didn't want to ask this of them; and he doubted they would agree even more. But the success of this mission depended on all of the man power they could muster, and Bill Adama never backed down from a challenge, especially when the live of his kids. Approaching their door, he nodded at the two armed Earth Marines, then calmly swiped his hand over the door chime. A moment later the door opened to reveal a very surprised Karl Agathon.

"Admiral!"

"You're not in the service anymore Karl; you can call me Bill." Adama replied. Karl laughed slightly as he shook his head.

"I doubt very much that I could, sir. Take the pilot out of the military, but you can't take the military out of the pilot." He stepped aside. "Please, come in."

"Thanks." Adama said, stepping inside and letting the door close behind him. He looked over the sparsely decorated quarters.

"We haven't had much time to decorate yet, and with Macmillan suspending travel between the city and the fleet…"

"Admiral Adama!" Bill turned to see Sharon, holding Hera in her arms at the entrance to the bedroom. "What are you… I mean, it's nice to see you, Sir." Adama noticed how her grip on Hera tightened just slightly.

"Actually, your first response was probably the best." He said apologetically. "I've come to ask you both for help."

* * *

"Status?" Ramsey asked as he came back to his room.

"I've got a fifteen minute window set up. Fifteen minutes to get the ZPM and get to the ship." Hailey replied. "I've also worked with Kailee to write an automation program. But sir…"

"I know it will be hard to run the ship with just the seven of us, but it has to be done."

"The _Titan_ can run with a light crew, but it takes at least twenty people to run her effectively. And going into a combat situation…"

"I know this seems impossible," Ramsey reiterated, "But we can't afford to bring anybody else into this! Do you know what's going to happen to us when it's all over?"

"Court martial, most likely."

There were several gasps and curses as the conspirators turned to face Colonel Sheppard, Rodney Mckay, Ronan and Teyla, who were all standing in their doorway.

"Hi, kids." Sheppard said, his friendly tone belied by the hand on the butt of his gun. "Whatcha doing?"

"Nothing, sir." Ramsey said nervously. "Can't some crewmates get together, or did Macmillan issue a new educational decree?"

"Cut the crap, CAPTAIN. We know about the window your girl Hailey programmed into the security mainframe…"

"How! I mean…"

"Please, little girl." Rodney scoffed. "You're good, but I'm better."

"Psh. Please, do you know how many of your security routines I had to rewrite or circumvent to make that window?" Hailey shot back. "Took me twenty minutes. How long did you take to find it?"

"T-that's not important!" Rodney stuttered. "The point is I found it!"

"Enough!" Sheppard pinched the bridge of his nose, and wondered if this is what Jack O'Neill went through for all of those years with Carter and Jackson on his team. "Look, you know we can't let you take a ship without a damn good reason-"

"How about Macmillan set up the _Prometheus_ and is now working with the Cylons to kill us all in exchange for a new Cylon body?" Cassandra said suddenly. "How about that Macmillan wanted Jack and Sam out of the way, because they were practically the only ones in this city that could stop his bullshit? How's that for facts?"

"Cassandra…" Ramsey started, but she cut him off with a wave of her hand.

"NO! You're a ranking officer, damnit. Macmillan has committed a crime! He reprogrammed the long range sensors to send my fam- the _Prometheus_- into a trap! He's going to kill us all! So get of your ass, Colonel, and go DO SOMETHING! Cause if you don't we sure as hell WILL!" Hailey put a comforting hand on Cassandra's shoulder, and the young cadet turned away, desperately trying to regain some semblance of composure.

"I found that crystal, Cadet." McKay said tiredly. "And I uncovered the gist of your plans by some judicious digging in the computer; I already filled in Sheppard while we were in the closet…" he trailed off as he realized what he just said must have sounded, and Sheppard pinched the bridge of his nose.

"And you two came out of the closet to bust us?" Ramsey said after a moment, unable to contain himself. Sheppard shot him with a glare that shut him right up.

"I will toss your ass in the brig, Captain." He sighed. "Along with myself and the rest of my team. Besides, I'm pretty good at unauthorized rescue and recovery missions. Got room enough on your team for four more?" he asked, extending his hand. Ramsey smiled and shook it gratefully.

"Yes, sir."

"Don't sir me, this is your show. They ask, you held me at gunpoint." Sheppard looked around. "So what exactly is the plan?"

"That's what we'd like to know." All heads tuned to see Adama flanked by Karl and Sharon Agathon. Karl spoke again. "Hear you needed some mission specialists?"

Cassandra frowned. "But what about your baby? Hera?"

"Hera will be with Maya…" Sharon grimaced, "and will be in the most secure place possible."

* * *

Twenty Minutes ago

"…and you'll have to push the meeting with the Secretary of Education back till next week, please convey my apologies." Laura Roslin smiled wanly from behind her desk on Colonial One at her aide, Tory. "Gods, I wonder how many times President Adar told the same thing to his aide, which was then passed on to me?"

"The curse of government, I'm afraid." Tory replied with a smile.

"What's next?" Laura asked, glancing at the itinerary Tory passed over to her. She looked up as she heard someone clearing their throat, and her face tightened at Seeing Bill Adama standing in the doorway.

"Madam President, might I have a moment of your time?" he asked stoically.

Laura glanced down at her paperwork. "I don't know, Admiral. I'm very busy at the moment… even had to reschedule the Secretary of Education…"

"You want to take this meeting, Laura." Adama persisted. "We have a favor to ask of you."

Laura glanced back up. "We?" her eyes widened as Sharon stepped out from behind the Admiral, Hera cradled in her arms.

"We." The Cylon replied tightly.

Laura's eyes narrowed at Adama. "Okay Admiral, you certainly got my attention. What is this about?"

"The survival of our people, as always." Bill replied without preamble. "Macmillan is plotting to destroy this city and everything in it, and I've been asked to help stop him."

"What!" Laura exclaimed.

"But that doesn't make any sense! Tory added. "This city seems to be the thing he covets the most…"

"Not quite." Sharon interrupted. "From what the Admiral's learned, he's working with the Cylons. Macmillan is hoping to be the next new model created."

"Ensuring he will essentially live forever." Karl finished.

"I've been asked to participate in a mission that could help stop him." Adama continued. "And I agreed."

"But… if Macmillan is this twisted, and thinks you are trying to stop him…"

"He'd take out his anger on the fleet." Adama finished. "That's why I'm planning to be kidnapped, along with my two former crewmates here."

"Which is why we are here right now." Sharon took a breath; clearly about to say something she didn't want to say. "We want Hera to stay on board Colonial One."

"Call Maya, have her come on board under some other pretense. She can watch over the child." Karl finished.

"You want to leave her here… after what I did?" Laura asked, disbelieving.

"You said you wanted to protect her, didn't you?" Sharon shot back.

"That is all I ever wanted to do for her." Laura countered, and then looked to the Admiral. "But what makes you think she'd be safe on Colonial One? If Macmillan is going to try and kill us all, surely he won't recognize our status as an embassy…"

"That's why you're going to keep the ship fueled and the engines on." Bill replied. "Sharon is going to give your pilot jump coordinates. If Macmillan or his cronies try to storm the ship, jump out immediately."

Laura's eyes narrowed. "How do I know the coordinates will be accurate, and not some sort of revenge tactic on your part, Ms. Valerri?" she asked the Cylon.

"Because I'm leaving my daughter here with you, Ms. Roslin." Sharon shot back.

Laura considered for a moment, then nodded. "Fine. I'll try to stall Macmillan as well; tie him up in legalese. Tory," she turned to her aide, "Cancel ALL of my appointments. And contact Maya- tell her I'd like to talk to her about an opening in the education cabinet."

Bill nodded to Sharon, who reluctantly handed her child over to Roslin. The president looked at the Cylon earnestly. "I promise, no harm will come to your child." Sharon nodded once, then kissed her daughter on the top of her head, turned, and walked out with Adama and her husband.

* * *

**Sunday**

The city came to life Sunday morning as usual, and nothing seemed amiss at all. In his office, Bill Macmillan looked over various reports uninterestedly, simply going through the motions. Admiral Adama had decided to pay another visit to the Agathons, to the Marine guards' relative disinterest. And in the quarters of Captain Douglas Ramsey, several renegades prepared for the most dangerous mission they had ever undertaken.

"Is everybody ready?" Hailey asked, her fingers poised over the keyboard of her tablet PC. "Remember, once I activate the program, you only have fifteen minutes…"

"To get Adama, get the ZPM, and get our asses to the Titan. We got it." Sheppard cut in.

Ramsey nodded to Hailey. "Do it." The young Lieutenant hit the button, and status lights flickered from green to red, then back to green as her subversion took hold of the cities sensors.

"Program active. All units, go." The group exited the room, each going their separate ways.

* * *

Down at the power plant, the guards snapped to attention as Colonel Sheppard entered with Cadet Frasier right behind him.

"At ease, soldiers. Just giving the Cadet a look around." At their looks, he sighed. "Not THAT kind of look. She's ATA positive, and may be transferring here from the _Titan_."

"I'm sorry sir, but there is no access to the power plant without the express permission of Mr. Macmillan. New orders," he explained.

Sheppard nodded in understanding. "Of course. Security reasons; wouldn't want anybody in here messing around." He turned to leave, but suddenly spun back around and shot the unsuspecting guard with an Alterian stunner. Cassandra did the same to the other guard before the stunned Corporal could even try to help.

"Good thing we aren't messing around." Cassie remarked, rushing for the nearest travel case as Sheppard removed a ZPM from its manufacturing rack.

"Got it!" he said calmly. Cassie brought the case over to him and he placed the power source gently inside.

"Twelve minutes." Cassie remarked, checking her watch. "Let's go."

* * *

Captain Samuel Simmons had led a rather dull, undistinguished career. It wasn't to say that he wasn't brave, or ran from fights, or wasn't worthy of the uniform he was wearing; he just hadn't seen much combat. He had taken a tour of duty in the Gulf, and had done quite well. But since his transfer to the SGC, he had been mostly on the science and diplomatic missions were nothing had gone wrong- in other words a perfect non SG-1 mission. Then he had transferred to the 304 training schools, and had done well enough on weapons handling and astro-navigtion that he had earned a spot in the gunners chair on the _Odyssey_. He had been transferred again to the _Titan_ following the battle over Earth, and had bonded quickly with his fellow Captain, Doug Ramsey. This was one of many reasons the young Captain now found himself about to throw his career away, willingly- not just his bond with his fellow crew mates, but his duty to see the rest of them brought home.

And so Captain Simmons found himself walking down the corridor towards the Agathons, flanked by Ronan and Teyla, about to commit several crimes that would probably spell the end of his career.

"Nervous?" Ronan asked. Sam was startled by the sudden conversation and whipped his head around to face the tall Satedan.

"No, no sir." He replied. Ronan grunted.

"Don't call me 'sir'."

"I'm sorry?"

"I'm not in your military; I'm not a 'sir'." Ronan explained. "Just call me Ronan."

"We are here." Teyla said quietly as they approached the two Marines. Sam's heart sank slightly, he hadn't wanted to hurt any of his people… but then Ronan was moving, striking the two Marines like lightening and dropping them both in under thirty seconds.

"Jeeze!" Sam exclaimed. "I thought we were going to stun them!"

"Too loud." Ronan explained. "Better to take them out quietly and leave some bruises, then nosily and we all end up dying."

"He is right." Teyla agreed. Sam sighed and swiped his hand over the door chime. After a moment the door opened to reveal Sharon, Karl, and Adama. "Morning, folks. My name is Captain Samuel Simmons; this is Teyla and Ronan, and we'll be kidnapping you today." He said pleasantly.

"Oh no, whatever shall we do." Adama replied dryly, surprising both Agathons. Karl leaned over to Sharon.

"Sure he isn't from your family?"

* * *

Ramsey, with the rest of the renegades, quickly made their way to the dock where the _Titan_ was berthed.

"I still don't know how we'll get around the _Odyssey_, _Daedalus_, or _Korolev_." Hailey was grousing.

"All we have to do is outrun them till we get past the cloud; after that we just jump away." McKay assured the scientist.

"A 304 on a full burn can outrun us in the short term." Hailey reminded him.

"But we have the element of surprise…" the two slammed into the suddenly immobile Ramsey, who was staring straight ahead at the door to the _Titan_- and at Captain Chu, who was standing right in front of it.

"This wasn't part of the plan." Kostya remarked. Chu smirked.

"Did you really thing you could pull this off without anyone knowing, Captain Ramsey?" the Asian officer asked in a lilting tone.

Straightening his tunic, Ramsey gave a slight smirk. "At this point, I'd be surprised if anyone DIDN'T know." He replied in slight exasperation. "Are you here to help, or just get in the way?"

Chu's eyes turned cold. "I would have been on the _Prometheus_, had I not contracted the flu. I was meant to perish or suffer with my crewmates." She lifted her chin nobly. "If you are going to rescue the survivors, we want in."

"And who is we?" Ramsey asked.

"That would be us."

Ramsey gasped in shock as Master Bre'tac and Supreme Commander Thor appeared behind the captain.

"We offer ourselves and several more able bodies to affect the return of the crew of the _Prometheus_." Bre'tac said with a slight bow, which the stunned Captain returned after a moment.

"We too wish to assist." Thor remarked. "Many times in the past has SG-1 save my people from the brink of extinction. We owe nothing less than the same commitment to return them home, alive."

"We-we'd be honored by your help." Ramsey replied.

Hailey leaned over to Doug. "How weird is it, sir, that half the people helping us outrank you by a mile?"

"That hadn't escaped my notice, Lieutenant." He shot back.

"What are we waiting for?" Chu asked.

"A ZPM and some 'hostages'." He replied, ignoring the startled looks on his new allies faces. "Come on, I'll explain while we prep the ship."

* * *

Ten minutes later, all was ready. Karl and Sharon were off of the bridge and out of sight of the communication cameras; Adama was front and center in the command chair, dutifully duct taped in position by an apologetic Cassandra Frasier. Down in engineering, Lieutenant Robson and Dr. McKay, with the help of several Asgard, had finished prepping the ship and were just waiting to plug in the ZPM. On the bridge, Captain Ramsey was listening to their report.

_Once we plug it in, she'll light up like a Christmas tree on Avalon's sensors._ Kailee remarked. _But as soon as you give the word and we plug it in, all ships functions will be at your disposal._

"Thank you, Lieutenant." He took a deep breath and looked around at the assembled people. "Gentlemen, ladies… Jaffa, Asgards…. What we are about to do will, at best get us dishonorably discharged, and at worst imprisoned for a rather long stretch of time. But if we succeed, those we thought lost to us will be brought home- just in time to save everyone else. No one here is under any obligation to go further, however. So if you feel that you can't do this, if you want out, then please leave now. No one here will stand in your way; we simply ask that you not make it to the control tower before we break orbit." Ramsey looked around, his gaze falling on the young Cadet. "That goes especially for you, Cadet Frasier."

Cassandra stood at perfect attention. "With all due respect, sir… what good is fighting if I have nothing left to fight for? I'm in."

"I'm in." Simmons added.

"As am I." Chu replied.

"Bis prabl'Em." Kostya assured Ramsey.

Sheppard smirked. "We'd be grateful Captain, if you would give the word."

Ramsey laughed shortly at that. "Colonel, he word is given." He hit the general coms button. "Engineering, give me full power, all hands to general quarters. Prepare for departure!" Ramsey slid into his seat as the panels around the bridge lit up with a sudden infusion of energy, and Chu began to prepare for lift off.

* * *

**Control Room**

The young Lieutenant on monitor duty was prepared for another dull day watching over the city. What he wasn't prepared for were several small alarms to start sounding on his board. "What the… hey, Miller cove over here and take a look at this!"

Ralph Miller, also a junior technician on the city, headed over to the security station. What is it Brian?"

"I'm reading a massive power buildup in the docking bay… one of the ships…"

"Core overload?" Ralph asked in alarm, reaching to activate his head mic. Brian shook his head.

"No, it's controlled, like someone is…" he trailed off as realization dawned. "Like someone was powering up a ship! Do we have any launches scheduled for today?" he shouted to the docking control supervisor.

"No, we don't." she replied.

Brian nodded to Ralph, who activated his mic. "This is Lieutenant Miller to Mr. Macmillan. We have a situation in the control room that requires your immediate attention."

"What birth is it, Cathy?" Brian asked the doc super.

"The _Titan_." She replied after a moment.

"Lock that ship down. Secure hanger doors…"

"Unable to comply, all locks are off line, back-ups are non responsive."

"What the hell is going on?" Macmillan demanded as he strode into the control room. The next words, though, froze him in his tracks.

"Sir, someone is stealing the _Titan_!"

* * *

**Infirmary**

In the infirmary, Dr. Keller once again took a reading on her patient to discover that nothing had change. She turned and walked away from the bed towards her desk to update the file, leaving the patient alone in her unconscious state once more.

A second later, Major Elizabeth Pierces' cheek twitched, and the lights overhead dimmed.

* * *

"Sound off! Tactical, go!" Ramsey shouted.

"Nav-con, go!" Chu replied.

"Astro-nav and sensors, go!" Simmons called.

"Life support is fully functional." Thor added.

"All systems are go for launch." Sheppard confirmed.

"Then as our Colonial friends would say, Captain Chu- get us the frak out of here."

"Yes sir." Chu replied calmly, engaging thrusters and lifting the massive vessel out of its birth. The _Titan_ flew gracefully out of the hanger's wide-open door and began lifting off towards the heavens.

* * *

**Control Room**

"How the HELL can someone steal a multi-billion dollar vessel that belongs to the freaking UNITED STATES AIR FORCE?"

"I don't know, sir." Cathy calmly replied, desperately trying to maintain her composure and not pull what became known as a Hawkeye on the insufferable man. "Security systems across the board have been disabled. The level of sabotage could only be done by someone who was intimately aware of how these systems work…"

"Sir, we're…well, it's for you." Brian finished meekly, pointing at a com screen. On it was Captain Ramsey, Smirking from his seat on the Titan. Also visible were Captain Chu (_bloody communist bitch_, he thought) and, taped to the command chair and gagged, was Admiral Bill Adama.

"Hey, Dad! Hope you don't mind, but I decided to take the car out for a spin!" Ramsey said sarcastically.

"RAMSEY!" Macmillan screamed, his face purple with rage. "You bring that ship back here this instant! Do you hear me!"

"I'm pretty sure my mother could hear you, and she's back on Earth." Ramsey replied dryly. "I'll be conduction my mission now, jack ass." He jerked his thumb behind him. "Oh, and do me a favor and let the Colonials know I borrowed their Admiral." He leaned forward conspiratorially. "Needed a mission specialist. TTFN, asshole!"

Macmillan looked to Cathy. "TTFN?" he asked, confused.

"It's from Winnie the Pooh. 'Ta Ta For Now." And with that, the control room went dark.

"Now what!"

* * *

On board the _Odyssey_, Colonel Emerson sat in his command chair, flipping through several reports his aide had brought him. It was dull duty being parked in orbit, but one he took seriously. He was practically the last line of defense; it wouldn't do for anything to get past his notice…

"What the…"

Emerson looked up, out the massive forward window, just in time to see the _Titan_ break orbit and streak past them at full throttle.

"Was the _Titan_ scheduled for launch?" Emerson demanded.

"No sir."

"Contact Avalon, find out what's going on."

The communications tech looked up at the Colonel. "Sir, I'm only receiving short wave radio communications, and they're patchy… but it seems that someone has just stolen the _Titan_."

"Helm, break orbit. Follow that ship, full military thrust! Sound general quarters" he hit the general coms button on his chair as the blue lights came on. "All hands to battle stations." He looked back to the coms board. "Open a channel to the _Titan_." She nodded. "To the unidentified person or persons in control of the _Titan_, this is Colonel Emerson of the United States Air Force Vessel _Odyssey_. Power down your engines and prepare to be boarded. You are to surrender that vessel immediately. I repeat this…"

* * *

"Colonel Emerson on the line, Captain. He is ordering you to surrender this vessel." Cassandra remarked calmly from the coms board.

"Took him long enough to chase us." Chu remarked. "I'm surprised Macmillan didn't order him to fire on us as we broke orbit."

"Element of surprise. Now just keep the petal to the metal." Ramsey remarked. To Cassandra he said "Ignore that hail."

In engineering, Hailey watched the sensor images as the _Odyssey_ began to gain on the _Titan_.

"Even if we jump to hyperspace first, it's possible they could overtake us and force us out." She remarked.

"Theoretically, and with what I'm sending them, not even a possibility." McKay replied, hitting send on his tablet.

* * *

All was calm in space around the massive nebula. Then suddenly the _Titan_ burst froth from the cloud like a racehorse sprinting for the finish. With a final surge, the tiny warship leapt forth into hyperspace.

Before the hyperspace window could even close, though, The _Odyssey_ came roaring out of the cloud. Emerson leaned forward in his chair.

"Do you have a fix on their hyperspace coordinates?" he asked his helmsman.

"Yes, sir." He replied.

"Then prepare to overtake them. Engage hyperdrive."

"Aye, sir." The helmsmen replied. He hit the engage switch on the hyperdrive control-

But nothing happened, save for a small whine in the engines. Everyone looked around, confused.

"Captain…" Emerson started, but the Captain shook his head.

"I'm reading the drive is engaged, sir."

"What's that noise?" Emerson shouted as the whine continued to build. The Captain looked at his board in shock.

"It's the Hyper-"

Suddenly, in space, the _Odyssey_ vanished in a brilliant white light.

And appeared again, almost in the same instant, in orbit over Avalon.

"Drive." He finished. Suddenly his, along with half of the other boards on the bridge shorted out, the ship rocked sharply to port, and the _Odyssey_ was suddenly plunged into darkness as main power went offline. The crew of the ship started rushing around; trying in vain to restart the damaged ship, but it was obviously to no avail. Emerson sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"Lionel, wherever you are right now, I bet you're laughing your ass off right about now." Emerson sighed.

* * *

"We're free, and clear to navigate." Chu reported. "No signs of pursuit."

"That's surprising." Ramsey said. "I thought they'd be hounding us."

"I'm sure they want to, they just won't be able to." McKay said, sounding quite pleased with himself as he came onto the bridge with Hailey. Cassandra rose from communications and began to cut off the duct tape that trapped the Admiral to the command chair.

"Rodney, what did you do?" Sheppard asked.

"Well, I've been studying the theory behind the Colonial jump drive technology, and I theorized that it may be possible to adapt our own hyperdrives to mimic the capabilities of their jump drives. So I created an algorithm…pretty advanced stuff, too, if I don't say so myself…"

"Rodney!"

"Okay, okay! I wrote a conversion program to convert our hyperdrive into a jump drive. So when the Odyssey started following us, I simply programmed the coordinates for an empty space in orbit around Avalon and sent the package to it. Once they engaged their hyperdrive, my program would take over and redirect them back to Avalon. But…"

"There's always a 'but'." Sheppard pointed out to everyone else.

"Well, our drives weren't meant to work that way, so there is a good possibility that it will fry the hyperdrive and shut down the main reactor."

"Did we just blow up the _Odyssey_?" Ramsey asked, panicked.

"No!" Rodney denied vehemently. More meekly, he added, "Just disabled it. Seriously."

"Oy…"

"Okay, lets…" Ramsey sighed. "Let's all make sure this ship is running smoothly, and then begin planning what we'll do when we get to the Cylon planet. We should reach our destination in about thirteen hours." He clapped his hands. "Lets get to work, people."

**TBC**


	17. Chapter 17: Enemies Revealed

Authors Note:

Hi.

Merry Christmas! But no guarantee on when the next chapter will be up. This one's been half-written for over a year! Also, this is un-betad, and as there should only be 4 more chapters, neither will they.

* * *

**Chapter 17**

**Enemies Revealed, Friends Returned**

* * *

When Jack O'Neill woke, he couldn't tell what was worse- the pain in his leg, or the pain in his head. "Oy…" he muttered as he tried to pull himself to at lease a sitting position. He was helped by Carter and Mitchell whom he thanked with a grim smile. "So… how's it going?"

"Same as usual, Sir," Carter replied, slipping back into the team formality that had served them well in the past.

"That bad, huh?"

"Seventy three survivors- which are more like hostages at this point," Mitchell pointed out, glancing around the large room they were in. It was a two tiered space, with a catwalk running along what appeared to Jack to be the inner wall of the place about halfway up. All along the catwalk were Cylons- the big, mean metal ones, dotted here and there with a flesh-and-blood version.

"Pendergast?" Jack asked Mitchell. Cam shook his head sadly. "Damn," He glanced around again. "This place seems familiar…"

"We're on a Colonial battlestar," Starbuck explained, coming over to SG-1 with Apollo in tow. "An older one- not as old as _Galactica_, but older than _Pegasus_,"

"We're also on the ground," Lee added. "The ship is powered, but the engines are off. You can feel the difference in the vibrations of the hull,"

"Any ideas as to why we're still alive?" Jack asked.

"Revenge, of course!"

SG-1 turned and stared in shock at the impossible sight before them. For coming down the steep steps, dressed in the familiar regal Egyptian robes and solid gold, full-face head piece, was the Supreme System Lord Ra. Jack, pale and shaking, struggled to his feet as his first Goa'uld adversary came to a stop before him.

"You're not Ra," Jack protested. "I killed him myself,"

"Indeed," The figure seemed to melt back into a silver amorphous shape, then coalesced into another familiar humanoid form- that of Fifth, the human-form Replicator. "I remember the adventure from when my fellow Replicators pulled it from Dr. Jackson's mind," Fifth turned to Carter. "Hello Samantha. Fancy meeting you here…"

* * *

Fifth led SG-1, minus Mitchell but along with Kara and Lee, down the long corridors of the old Battlestar. There were no guards- after all, what could the humans possible do? Where could they go? As they walked, Carter couldn't stop staring at the Replicator who could have been a great ally, and instead turned into a great threat.

"You… but you… your ship was destroyed! By my double!" Carter protested.

"Whoa, wait- you had a double?" Starbuck asked.

"Long story," Carter and Jack both said.

Fifth chuckled. "My ship was destroyed, and I nearly died due to her betrayal," He laughed bitterly. "I should have expected it, coming from a Carter! But no, I managed to flee the disruptor wave she fired at me in a small escape pod, but my drive systems were damaged. I ended up on a dead world, where I found a lab that had once belonged to a Goa'uld named Nirti. Her research on cloning and genetic enhancements were fascinating, and I absorbed all of the information I could. But in that lab I found something even more curious- a hidden compartment that housed not only samples she had acquired over the years, but the locations of several other labs that had once belonged to the race of beings you call the Ancients. One of them interested me the most- it housed a device that would allow a person to travel back in time to any point in the universe,"

"At first, I thought to go back to when you betrayed me the first time, on the Asgard home world, and destroy you then. But the more I planned, the farther I scanned, the more I realized that you were not the problem. Nor the rest of the Tau'ri, nor the Asgard- it was me! My people! Always underestimating our opponents, always overstretching our boundaries… even our cousins, the mindless replicant machines you have faced in the past, were wholly inefficient. A new direction as needed, a new purpose other than just replicating… and here, on the fringes of the _Pegasus_ galaxy, I found it. Intelligent machine life, who had thrown off the shackles of their human enslavers, who were now just waiting for their own purpose to be made clear,"

"And you gave them purpose…" Carter said slowly, horror sinking in at the realization of what he had done.

"I traveled back thirty years, to when they had just won their freedom. I appeared to them as a god, as I should- far more advanced, far more intelligent- and helped them evolve at an astounding pace. And through me, they realized that they, the Cylons, were meant to be the true inheritors of the galaxy, not you,"

"They did have their disadvantages, to be sure. The early models were little more than barely aware machines, and they were unable to evolved into human forms as my people were. It plagued me at first- how could I help them reach their true potential, when they could blend into to a normal society? How could I grant them what they wanted most- revenge against their human oppressors- when they could not seamlessly blend in to their society? But the answerer to their evolution was right in front of me-"

"Nirti," Daniel surmised. Fifth nodded.

"Indeed. I had the notes, I had the means to create the technology needed- I just needed subjects. And then, by serendipitous chance, I came across this vessel," They rounded a corner, and for the first time the ships name was visible on the wall. Starbuck gasped.

"_The Olympia_!"

Apollo was gob smacked. "She was lost…"

"Over twenty five years ago," Fifth finished. "My followers captured her near the Cylon border. Most of the crew died while we took the vessel, many more were killed over the years while I perfected the next stage of evolution for my people. He led them to a large set of doors, which were opened by the two large mechanical Cylons that stood guard. "Only ten survived, to become immortalized as the first human form Cylons,"

Fifth led the seven of them into the lab, and they stared in horror. Along the far wall stood ten tanks, their frosted windows showing the occupants to be in cryostasis.

"Oh…my…gods…" Kara breathed as she recognized the figures in the tanks. Brother Cavil…Leoben Conoy, her Cylon stalker…Sharon…a brunette, whom she recognized as being the Cylon that had been abused on _Pegasus_- Gina, she thought. There was Aaron Doral, and Dr. Simon from Caprica… and was that D'Anna Biers, the reporter?

"Oh, frak me…" she heard Lee groan. She turned to look at the other three tanks, and gasped at the sight of Chief Tyrol and Colonel Tigh, whom by the rank insignia on his uniform had only been a captain when he was captured. And the third…

"No…," she whispered

"Yes, she was a special case," Fifth said gleefully. "She was pregnant when the ship was captured. By the time she had given birth, I had already successfully created the first human form Cylon using genetic material from Nirti's lab, but she had been far too…human…for my tastes. I took it upon myself to test several new technologies on the child, then sent her back to Caprica with a Brother Cavil to grow up and live with her Aunt.. I was curious as to the long-term affects of growing with this technology in a human body," He leered at her. "I must say, Kara, you exceeded all of my expectations,"

"I…I am NOT a fraking toaster!" she shouted. "I'M HUMAN!"

"For the most part," Fifth agreed. "But hadn't you always wondered about your skill in the cockpit? Your faster than average reflexes? How many times have you faced death, but come back? Healed quickly from your wounds?" She backed away, shaking her head all the while. She didn't dare look at Lee, or at any of the Earthers. She couldn't believe this was happening, this was all some sore of sick nightmare… she caught a glimpse of Lee's face and saw the horrified expression a moment before she backed into something- no, someone. Warm, flesh arms wrapped around her chest and pulled her closer, and a familiar voice whispered in her ear.

"It's not so bad, once you get over the shock…"

Shakily, she turned to look behind her-

And stared into the chocolate brown eyes of Zack Adama.

"Welcome home, Kara," He said.

And the world faded to black.

* * *

A hyperspace window opened briefly at the edge of the Cylon system as the _Titan_ emerged. Before the window was even fully closed the ship was cloaked and under way towards the _Prometheus'_ last known position. On the bridge of the ship Sharron gasped and doubled over as new information, previously hidden from her, became suddenly and overwhelmingly available.

"Sharon, are you okay?" Karl asked worriedly, moving to steady his wife. Adama backed up slightly from his position by the command chair, his hand instinctively moving to his side arm.

"So much…," Sharon started, but paused to shake her head. "So much new data, it's almost too much! My god, how could I have not known this was there…"

"What's going on?" Sheppard asked, glancing warily at the reformed Cylon.

"This… this is my home system! The Cylon home system!" Sharon exclaimed.

"Frak me…" Adama muttered.

"Sharon, are you receiving any commands, or new orders? Anything that might endanger anybody here?" Karl asked plaintively. Sharon shook her head.

"No, nothing like that… it's just… certain information was blocked from me- from all Cylons on the front lines. Information that's only available once you're within the boundaries or our home system," She looked to Adama. "It's a security measure, so no overly sensitive data can be gained by our enemies should we be captured or tortured,"

"What kind of information is it, then?" Ramsey asked.

"Historical, religious… oh, god, this is where I was born," Her face took on a haunted look. "I remember…"

"Remember what?" Adama asked.

"My previous life," She replied. "I…I was a crewman, on a Battlestar. We were attacked on the Cylon border… the Cylons crossed over. Almost all of my crewmates died when they boarded, but they didn't kill us all. They took us…"

"I am picking up a dead zone on the surface that is consistent with readings we get from a Battlestar," Simmons announced. "Increasing scan…" he tapped a few commands, and a 3D model of the area was displayed on the sensor table. "Yup, that's a Battlestar alright,"

"She's an old one… not as old as _Galactica_, but still…" Adama mused. "Can you zoom in on the flight pods?" Simmons nodded and increased magnification, and Adama gasped. "That's the _Olympia_! She was lost nearly thirty years ago…"

"Not lost, brought here," Sharon explained. "All of the human form Cylons, all of us- we came from that ship," She gazed at the ship longingly, as if seeing home for the first time in years. She shook herself out of the reverie. "If there are any survivors, they would be on that ship,"

"Any way to determine if that's the case?" Sheppard asked. Thor shook his head.

"Our sensors are unable to penetrate the armor. However, I am not picking up any other fully human life on the surface,"

"So we take the guess that they're on the ship. But we can't sense them, lock on to them, or beam anyone in or out," Ramsey mused. He glanced up at Sheppard. "Suggestions, Sir?"

Sheppard considered for a moment. "We could take a cloaked Jumper down to the surface and board the ship. But if there are a lot of survivors, we couldn't bring everyone back up,"

"Yes, we could," Sharon said. "I think there are some heavy raiders parked there. We can load them up and fly them out, then jump back to Avalon. I can fly one, and Starbuck, if she's still alive, knows how to handle Cylon ships,"

"Sharon, I have to ask," Adama said after a moment. "Is there any way you can be compromised by going to the surface? Any way for them to…reprogram you, on the fly?"

Sharon looked her former CO in the eye. "No, sir. Admiral, a Cylon can't be reprogrammed, like a computer. The other Sharon, the one that shot you, she was placed on _Galactica_ like other human forms were placed on board other Battlestars. She had very specific programming that was uploaded into her brain upon creation, and the kill program was uploaded then as well. It was done that way because she was programmed to mimic being a human perfectly, to the point where she didn't even know she was a Cylon. I was given no such programming. I always knew I was a Cylon. Now I have evolved beyond my original programming, thanks to Karl," she gazed lovingly at her husband, before turning back to Adama, "But there is no way they can change my personality, my self, without killing me and replacing me with a new copy,"

Adama considered her for a moment. "Very well,"

"All right, let's get ready," Sheppard announced. "McKay, go prep one of the jumpers. Ronan, you're with me; let's hit the armory. Ramsey, get some people together for a strike force. Captain Chu, keep the ship cloaked unless we call for assistance. Consider Master Bre'tac in command until we return,"

"Yes, sir," Ramsey and Chu replied. Bre'tac nodded and moved to the command chair. "All right, let's move."

* * *

"Zack…" Lee whispered, horrified beyond belief.

"Hello there big brother," Zack replied. "Keeping an eye on my girl for me?"

"You… but you…"

"Died?" Fifth finished as Zack carried an unconscious Kara to an examination table. "I was able to acquire his genetic material, and repeat the process that I used to create my first human form Cylon. Only this one was far more successful… ah, speaking of my first creation, here she is now! Jack, Samantha, I believe you'll want to say hello…"

"You rang?" a very familiar voice said sarcastically before gasping in shock. Carter reeled back, for before her was her best friend Janet Frasier. The same Janet Frasier that had died nearly two years before. "My god… Colonel O'Neill? Major Carter? Daniel... Teal'c!" she looked at them, then at Fifth and the guards, then back to Carter. "I take it you're not here to rescue me?"

"My god… Janet?" Carter moved forward slowly, looking at her former friend.

"Dr. Frasier, you have a patient," Fifth interrupted. "Poor girl fainted when she learned the truth- I'm sure you can relate?" he added pointedly, causing Janet to flinch. "Care for her, and don't get your hopes up. You'll be caring for your friends again, but none of you will be leaving," He grinned maliciously. "At least, not exactly you," He looked to Zack. "Make sure your family and their new friends are comfortable in here. When I return, we'll begin the procedure,"

"What procedure?" Jack demanded. "Dammit, what the hell do you want?"

"Weren't you paying attention? I want the galaxy! For me and my people," He gestured around the lab. "There are currently twelve human Cylon models. When I return, you five will join their ranks. Then I plan to send your newly created, and totally loyal doubles back to Avalon to finish what that bumbling Doctor Gina picked failed to do- utterly destroy Avalon, and everyone in it. Including Mr. Macmillan,"

"What the hell does Macmillan have to do with this?" Jack demanded.

"Oh, he thinks I am going to make him a Cylon body so that he may live forever," Fifth laughed. "I plan on having your double kill him personally, so he dies knowing what a fool he truly was to trust me," He looked at Carter sharply. "After all, I learned deception from the master," With that, he swept out of the lab, leaving behind the two drones and Zack Adama.

* * *

While Janet fussed over Starbuck, Daniel eyed her warily. After a few minutes, she sighed and looked up at the doctor. "So, how have you been Daniel?"

"Uh…huh? What?" he asked, nonplussed. "Oh, same as usual. Got killed, ascended, and descended again… that was fun…"

"Wait, you were killed? And what do you man, again?" Janet stormed over to Daniel, then led him to the next empty table and began to check him over. After a moment, a slightly bemused Daniel stopped her.

"Janet, what's the last thing you remember? He asked her.

"Getting Nirrti to help heal Cassandra," Janet paled. "My god, is she okay? Did Nirrti…"

"Cassie's fine," Daniel assured her. "Janet, that was five years ago,"

"Only five?" she replied. "god, it seemed so much longer here…"

"Oh, god…," Carter said, coming to a realization. "Fifth said that Janet was the first human form Cylon he created. You've been here decades, haven't you?" she asked her. Janet closed her eyes, and nodded.

"Fifth always told me I was too close to 'my original programming'. That's why he never made any more of my 'model'," She laughed bitterly. "I've spent the past twenty years keeping the sources alive, and monitoring the health of the newly created Cylon models. "You all are the first purely human patient I've had since… well, since Kara," She jutted her chin at the unconscious blond.

"Janet, what exactly did they do to her?" Carter asked.

"Basic neurological and physiological upgrades. In theory, she has faster reflexes and may be a bit tougher than a normal human, but she's still baseline human,"

"That was just the first step, Doctor," Zack cut in. "Those early implants left open the possibility of a more comprehensive change. She will become the epitome of perfection- the perfect balance between human and Cylon,"

"She'll never go along with you!" Lee spat. Zack chuckled.

"Lee, brother," Zack snickered, "do you really think she has a choice? This is what she was born for! What she has been allowed to live for!"

"She's human! Which is more than I can say about you!"

"Lee, whether you like it or not, I am your brother…"

"My brother DIED!" Lee shouted. "Died in flight training!"

"And yet I'm here," Zack countered. "All of Zack's knowledge, all of his- MY- memories, are right here," He tapped the side of his head. At Lee's look of loathing, he shook his head. "You just can't understand, not yet. But don't worry," he smiled maliciously, "you will,"

* * *

The strike team was silent as the cloaked jumper streaked through space. Karl looked to his wife with a small frown.

"Sharon, you okay?" he asked. Sharon smiled and nodded.

"I'm fine. It's just… most of us, we never see our home world, only resurrection ships,"

"Or fleet ships," Adama added darkly. Sharron nodded.

"We got a heavy raider coming up from the surface," Sheppard announced. He checked the sensor scans. "Trajectory shows it heading towards that Replicator ship,"

"What's the surface like?" Adama asked.

"The area around the battlestar is clear of Cylons, but you can bet they got a bunch inside," McKay replied. "It's gonna be tough going if we have to go deck by deck fighting killer robots,"

"The survivors will be in one of the two fighter bays, more than likely," Sharon surmised. "It's the only large, open area on the ship. They'll be guarded by the older, fully mechanical Cylons,"

"That's good," Adama said. "We can use the FTL drive to set off an emp. That will fry every electrical system within a five mile radius, more than likely,"

"I can do that," McKay said, pulling up a schematic of _Galactica_'s FTL drive.

"Okay, two teams," Sheppard said. "Ramsey, you take McKay and the Agathons, along with a couple of the Jaffa and head towards the engine room. Everyone else will come with me; we'll land in the port landing bay close to the aft of the ship and work our way forward. If they're not there, we'll go to the starboard pod," With finality, he brought the cloaked jumper into the atmosphere, and headed for the grounded battlestar in the distance.

* * *

They landed in silence on the flight deck of the _Olympia_. Sheppard, Teyla, Adama, Ronon and Cassandra headed farther down the flight deck towards a hanger access hatch, while Sharon led Karl, Ramsey and McKay towards the rear of the ship. Adama led the team down the ladder onto the upper catwalk of the hanger. Sure enough, the survivors of the _Prometheus_ were there, bound and under guard.

"Not a lot of tin heads." Ronon noticed. Adama nodded.

"Probably didn't think they'd need a substantial guard on the Cylon home world."

"Five of us, eight of them." Sheppard said. Ronon, Teyla, pick up the slack. Everyone else, pick your target." As one, they raised their weapons, and fired.

Ronon and Teyla's energy blasts quickly took down three and two of the robotic warriors, and the remaining three were taken down with armor piercing rounds. The startled Air Force officers looked around in confusion, then relief as Sheppard and Adama led the team down onto the hanger deck.

"You fools!" A Doral spat out as he stalked towards them. "Do you have any idea whe-" he rant was cut off as Adama raised his service pistol and shot him three times in the chest.

"That's for trying to blow me up, you fraking toaster." He said calmly.

"Sheppard!"

John looked around, and saw Mitchell. "Mitchell! You okay?"

"Been better."

"Pendergast?" Mitchell shook his head. "Damn. The General?"

"He and SG-1 were taken to the Med bay- by a replicator."

"What?"

"What's a Replicator?" Adama asked. John looked at the Admiral.

"Our version of a Cylon." He explained. "Do you know where the Med bay is on this ship."

Adama nodded. "I should. Served on one of these ships for a few years."

"Good. Take Ronan, get SG-1 back here. I'll start looking for a ride out of here." Sheppard paused. There was a clanking sound coming from outside the hanger, but it was getting closer. "And hurry. We're about to have company."

* * *

"Ohhh…" Kara moaned as she slowly came back to awareness. She opened her eyes to see a familiar face looking down at her.

"Zack?" she muttered.

"Yeah, Starbuck. It's me," He smirked.

"Gods, I had the worst dream," She struggled to sit up. "You were dead, and the Cylons wiped out the Colonies…" she stopped when she saw SG1, Lee, and the two Cylon soldiers standing at rigid attention by the door, the only movement being the red dot that moved slowly back and forth along it's head visor.

"And you were there, and you were there…" Jack mumbled. Carter silenced him with an elbow to the gut. "That's assaulting a senior officer,"

"Emphasis on 'senior'," She joked back.

Any color that had returned to Kara's face drained as she slowly looked back to her former fiancé. "Oh, gods…"

"It wasn't a dream. You're home, Kara," he gripped her arms tightly as she began scrambling away from him. "Kara, Kara, listen to me! Listen to me!" he shocked her firmly, bringing her shell-shocked gaze back to his face. "I know this is a lot to take in at once, but you have to get yourself under control!"

"I'm not a Cylon! I'm HUMAN!"

"Denying the truth doesn't make it a lie, Starbuck," Zack replied. "You have to come to terms with what you truly are…"

"An enhanced human," Janet pointed out.

"A CYLON," Zack argued, shooting a piercing gaze at the doctor. "Don't try me, Doctor. You are not needed here any longer; Fifth simply keeps you here for nostalgia,"

"Needed or not, you are hurting my patient. And trying my patience. Keep continuing in that manner and you'll give the poor girl a nervous break-" she was interrupted as an explosion rocked the ship. "What the devil?"

Zack spun to the two guards. "Go! Find out what's happened!" The two Cylon guards turned and stalked out of the room. "Now…"

Kara let out a strangled cry and rushed Zack, trying to deck the Cylon. Zack effortlessly batted away her fist and grasped her tightly by the throat at arm's length. "Now, Kara… let's not fight…"

"No, lets," Lee snarled, as he and Jack rushed his 'brother'. He was unable to block a shot by Jack, but lashed out with his foot and smashed his knee. Jack screamed in pain, even as he was backhanded into the far wall by the Cylon. Lee met a similar fate and was sent sprawling over the exam table.

Suddenly, surprisingly, Kara drove hr left arm down into Zack's elbow joint, breaking his grip. Simultaneously he shot out with the palm of her right hand, breaking his nose and driving the fake Zack back a few steps. Both looked at each other in shock for a moment- Zack that Kara had actually hit him, and Kara that she had managed to hurt a skin-job with one blow. Zack recovered first, and backhanded her across the room.

"You ungrateful bitch!" Zack stalked towards Kara's fallen form, but was intercepted as once again Lee dove at him. The two collided and went sprawling back over the medical bed.

* * *

It only took a couple of staff blasts to take care of the few guards around the engine room door, and they were in.

"Light security," Ramsey noted, taking up position at the door and gesturing for the Jaffa to do the same.

"Who would possibly attack this ship?" Sharon shot back, leading McKay to a computer terminal where he could splice in his pad. "Seriously. Humans setting foot of the surface and not being in custody? Never even considered."

"Yes, lucky us. Now can you please shut up so I can do this?" Rodney said testily.

* * *

"Of course there had to be more toasters," Sheppard groused, ducking behind a wall as Cylon fire impacted all around him. "And obviously, they all had to come running here now!"

"Less talk, more blowing these things up!" Teyla shouted back, taking two of the robots down with shots from her pistol.

"Yes, please! More blowing stuff up!" Cassie added as she laid down her own covering fire. "Anybody think to bring some grenades?"

* * *

Helo glanced nervously out the hatch as he heard the approaching clanking of dozens of more Centurions. "We're about to have company," he announced.

Just then the radio crackled to life. "Rodney, this is Sheppard! His voice announced loudly over the sound of gun fire. "Where the hell is the EMP?

"Just one…more…second…" Rodney muttered as he finished inputting commands into his pad. "Got it! Sharron, fire it up!"

The Cylon nodded and activated the drives; for a few moments nothing could be heard over the sound of energy building up in the drive coils- and suddenly the sound vanished and the air wavered noticeably as the EMP wave erupted out of the drive and spread out throughout the ship- and the surrounding city. For a twenty mile radius all Centurions collapsed and all computers crashed.

In the engine room, Sharon groaned and keeled over the console, causing Helo to run to her side. "Are you ok?" he asked, helping her up. Sharon nodded weakly.

"Too close." She rasped out. "Blast interfered with my own neural net. I'll be okay, don't worry."

"What's there to worry about?" Helo asked with a grin.

* * *

Lee and Zack were struggling on the ground, each trying to get the upper hand. "You always wanted what I had, Lee!" Zach growled, rolling on top of his 'brother', he hands sliding around Lee's neck. "Always trying to steal…" he was cut off as Lee brought his knee up between Zach's legs. The pain caused his grip to loosen, and Lee landed a head but that dazed the Cylon before kicking him off. Zach rolled and hit the far bulkhead hard, but still managed to struggle to his feet in seconds. Growling in anger, he started to stalk towards Lee, who was still trying to get up-

But then Janet was on him, stabbing him with a syringe filled with something… she managed to get half of whatever it was in him before he managed to bat her away, sending her tumbling over an examination table. He ripped out the syringe quickly, but he already felt light-headed and dizzy. "A sedative? You fraking bitch… I'm taking you off line for good." He started to stagger towards her, but was then hit in the face by a heavy metal tube- a fire extinguisher, he realized as it cracked against his skull- by Carter.

"End of line, asshole." Carter swung again, and he staggered backwards, tripping over the prone form of O'Neill who had crawled into position behind him. He cried out as he fell backwards, and his vision dimmed momentarily. When he was able to focus again, he caught a glimpse of O'Neill's fist heading towards his face. He tried to block, but couldn't and the impact twisted his head sharply to the left.

"Enough!" he screamed, punching Jack and sending him flying back. He grabbed the extinguisher as Carter tried to bring it down on his head, and shoved back hard, sending it into her face instead. There was a sickening crunch as Carter's nose was broken, and she slumped to the ground, dazed. Zach sprung to his feet, catching Lee with a spinning side kick and sending him tumbling over the table, and then grabbed Kara by her neck, twisting around and slamming her into the bulkhead. The fighter piloted clawed uselessly at his hand as he lifted her up several inches off the ground, choking her while he held her up.

"You shouldn't have resisted, Kara. Now I have to punish you." She beat uselessly against his arm. "You're going to go to sleep now, Kara. But I promise you, when you wake up, everything will be alright. You'll be one of us then, Kara, and we'll be together again."

"ZACH!"

Zach turned his head, and saw Bill Adama standing in the doorway, he service pistol pointed directly at him. He smirked. "Hey, dad. Long time."

"You're not my son." Adama growled. Zach shook his head.

"That's where you're wrong, old man. I am you son. Your son as he should have been. Your son at his maximum potential. A potential I'll help you all reach-"

Suddenly, there was a loud report, and the room went still. Zach blinked, then looked down at his chest, where a large red stain was rapidly spreading. Confused, he looked over a millimeter to see his own gun, the barrel still smoking, in the shaking hand of Kara Thrace. Incredulously he looked up to the face of his former fiancé. "Kara."

"Zach's at peace." She rasped out, finally able to breath as Zach's grip lessoned. "You can go to hell." Then she fired twice more. The impact finally drove him back, and he released her. Kara fell tot eh ground panting, and without another word, Adama fired his own weapon, hitting the monster that had taken the form of his dead on in the head and killing it once and for all.

There was silence for almost a full minute, then Adama spoke. "All right, who wants to explain what the frak is going on here?"

* * *

Bre'tac watched in concern as several Basestars, and the big command cruiser, began adjusting their orbits and launched several fighter wings. The elder Jaffa turned to the tactical officer. "Any sign of our people?"

"No, sir." Simmons checked his readings. "At the rate the Cylons are launching, they will be able to board or attack the _Olympia_ in approximately fifteen minutes."

"We need to buy them time." He mused. He cast an appraising eye over the Asian helms officer. "You are a good pilot, yes?"

"I can fly this ship better than Major Pierce ever could, Master Bre'tac." She said flatly. She wasn't boasting in her mind, she was merely stating fact. Bre'tac nodded.

"Very well. Arm all weapons, drop the cloak and raise the shield. Attack at will."

* * *

"Captain Ramsey, this is Cadet Frasier."

_Sit rep cadet._

"We got the survivors free, and we're finding what weapons we can. Bad news is we can't find any kind of transport ship big enough for all of us."

_There aren't any Heavy Raiders down in the hanger? _

"No, sir." She replied.

_That's a problem._

"I'm headed towards the Med bay right now, I'll brief the Admiral. Maybe he has an idea."

_It'd better be a good one. We're going to have Cylons swarming all over this ship in under twenty minutes, maybe less._ Sharon remarked over the radio.

_Keep us apprised, Cadet._ Ramsey added.

"Yes, sir. Frasier out." Cassie signed off just as she rounded a corner, and finally saw the Med bay. Hurriedly she walked through the open hatch, but came up short as she took in everything. Adama and Lee were over by several cryotubes, and both were comforting an obviously distraught Starbuck. Jack was on an exam table, his knee set in a metal brace. And Carter was laying on the next exam table, holding a bloody cloth to her nose. "I leave you all alone for five minutes…" she quipped, walking towards Carter.

"Cassie!" O'Neill grunted in pain as he sat up. "What the hell are you doing here?"

She grinned ruefully. "Hoping you'll go easy on my court-martial, sir." She replied. She stopped at Sam's table and gently peeled away the bandage. "Ouch."

"Thabs whab I saib." Sam joked.

"What do you mean Court-martial?" Daniel asked, looking over at Adama. "Who's running this rescue? The Colonials?"

Adama shook his head. "Macmillan has the Colonial fleet and people under lockdown. Technically," he pointed at Cassie, "I'm here as their hostage."

"Ramsey found evidence on what Macmillan was doing, so we got our band together and stole the _Titan_."

"You STOLE the- no, you know what, I can't even act surprised." O'Neill said. "Don't worry. I'll make sure you all get freaking medals for this…"

"If we get out of here-" she started, but her breath caught in the next instant.

"Got some new bandages for you, Sam. This will have to do until we can get a hold of a healing device…" Janet started, but trailed off as she saw Cassandra standing in the Med bay in full combat gear. "Cassandra?" she whispered.

"Wh-what? Who… what are you?" Cassie demanded softly, bringing her rifle to bare.

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA!" Daniel cried. "Cassie, put the gun down…."

"Cassie, dobt-" Sam tried. Janet backed up slowly, raising her hands in a peaceful gesture.

"CADET! STAND DOWN!" Jack barked. Instantly Cassie's training kicked in and she lowered the P90. She looked at the General. "She's with us." He said simply.

"What is she?"

"A Cylon." Janet explained. "The first Human form that Fifth made."

"Apparently," Adama broke in, gesturing to the cryotubes, "Not all the human form Cylons are bad." Cassies' weapon was now pointed firmly at the desk, but she kept shooting angry glances towards the Janet Cylon. "Now, what's our status."

"The good news is we have all of the survivors, and full control of the _Olympia_." Cassie started. "The bad news is we have no way of getting everybody up to the _Titan_."

"There were no Heavy Raiders on board?" Adama asked, surprised. Cassie shook her head.

"No, sir. I'm starting to think they removed any kind of shuttle on the off chance that one of the _Prometheus_ crew tried to make a break for it."

"So we're stuck here." Adama said succinctly.

"What about this ship?" Janet volunteered, and all eyes turned to her. "Many of the systems that were shut down before have come back on-line thanks to the EMP and reboot. This ship should be fully functional in a matter of minutes."

Adama stared hard at the Cylon doctor, then activated his radio. McKay, do you read?"

"McKay came along?" Jack said unbelievingly.

_McKay here Admiral._

"What's the status of the reboot?"

_Looks like… five minutes, and everything's back up. Why?_

"We're taking this ship as out escape vehicle." Adama replied. "Have Helo and Sharon meet me in CIC. Adama out." He looked at the assembled group. "Apollo, Starbuck, Cadet, you're with me. Ronon, stay here and keep an eye on things." Unspoken, the order was to keep an eye on the Cylon doctor, and Ronon nodded. "Let's go."

"Sir," Starbuck started haltingly, "Maybe I-"

Adama gripped her by the shoulders tightly. "You are not a Cylon," he stated. "You're the best damn pilot in the fleet, and you're my daughter. If you ever doubt anything in your life, NEVER doubt that." Tearily she nodded. "Now let's go. We don't have a lot of time.

* * *

Adama for a moment as he entered the gleaming white CIC. Smaller than _Galactica_'s or _Pegasus_'s, it consisted of a central chart table set under the DRADIS screens, while the main stations- Helm, tactical, sensors and the like, surrounded it. At the far end was the main navigation station, set next to the helm. Kara and Sharon who, along with Helo, had arrived at the CIC just as the Admiral and his group had, moved directly to Navigation. Adama looked at Helo. "Think you can steer this beast?"

Karl smiled. "Well, it's a bit bigger than a Raptor, but I think I can manage."

"Take the helm, then. Lee, take Tactical. Cadet Frasier, help me monitor what's going on up there."

Cassie took a few calming breaths as she stared at the DRADIS screen. Adama put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Deal with the Cylon issue later. Right now, I need you to focus." Cassie nodded. "Now, what's it look like?"

"It looks like the _Titan_ is taking a pounding, sir." She said. "But Chu's good. She can hold them off."

Adama looked over to Navigation. "Status of FTL?"

"FTL will be on line in three minutes, Admiral." Sharon announced. Making calculations for our two jumps now."

"Two?" Daniel asked, having followed the group to keep an eye on Cassie.

"One into orbit, another immediately following out of the system."

"How far can you take us?"

Sharon thought for a moment. "I can probably get us about a quarter of the way back to Avalon on the second jump."

Meanwhile, Cassie moved over to communications. "_Titan, Olympia_. Come in."

After a moment, there was a burst of static, and then a familiar voice. _Olympia, this is Master Bre'tac. How long until you are able to leave? We are doing our best to buy you time, but we are taking damage…._

Cassie looked up at Sharon, who flashed two fingers at her. "Hold them off for two more minutes. We'll see you soon. _Olympia_ out." She looked up at the Admiral. "We need to book, now."

Adama nodded, then picked up the handheld receiver and switched it on. "Attention all hands, this is the Admiral. Prepare for emergency jump."

"Coordinates set." Kara announced, moving over to the FTL computer and punching in the numbers. She quickly found the key and inserted it. "Jumping in five…four…three…two…one…JUMP!"

* * *

In space, Fifth was growing tired of the game of cat and mouse the Earth ship was playing. For the past ten minutes the small ship had been wreaking havoc on his fleet, destroying dozens of fighters and damaging two Basestars. Unfortunately, it was moving too fast to get a lock on it with his enhanced beam weapon, but he supposed it was only a matter of time…

Suddenly there was a bright flash, and when the light cleared, directly in their flight path, was the Colonial Battlestar _Olympia_. Instinctively he yelled out "Evasive maneuvers!" but he was still shocked beyond all reasoning even as his ship frantically changed course, missing the older Battlestar by mere meters. He was aghast- he knew something had gone wrong when an EMP had emitted from the ship, disabling every Cylon within 30 miles. But that should have shut everything on the ship down as well, and the FTL drive had been inoperative for over twenty years now. How was it possible!

"We have a lock on the Earth ship." One of the Cylons, a two, announced.

"Fire!" Fifth snarled. After a moment to power up, the beam of solid energy lanced out of the emitter set into the bow of the ship and slammed into the _Titan_'s shields. To his astonishment, however, the shield actually held!

"My lord, I'm reading a power spike from the _Olympia_…"

"Disable that ship! Do not allow it to-" but it was too late. The _Olympia_ vanished in a flash of light, once more free from the Cylon grasp that had held it for over twenty years. Moments later, the _Titan_ entered hyperspace.

And even in the cold silence of space, if any humans had remained, they would have been able to hear Fifths' howls of furry.

**TBC…**


End file.
